An Angel's Grace
by KieranHowl
Summary: "She has to die." he stared at death as the reaper relayed the message, "Like Hell." Death let out an exasperated sigh "Now we've been over being rude. Just listen for a moment. She has a big part to play, and simply can't do what she is meant to do in her current state." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" "It means you are the one who needs to kill her."
1. Saving Grace

"Can you fix her?" Castiel looked down at the girl in the bed, she looked fragile, her usually sun kissed skin was now void of color, her hair was matted down by greasy residue from the hospitals negligence. He looked to Sam and Dean with a complex expression.

"I can…try. But there is no guarantee she'll be the same when she wakes up.

"Cass, please…just bring her back." They had made a promise to their dad that they'd keep her safe

"I will do my best, Dean." He softly put his hand to the girls forehead and in an instance he was gone, into her mind.

* * *

"Hello, Grace?" he got no response as he scanned the dark forested area, spotting a single path through the clutter of trees.

"Grace?" he called once more as he strolled along the past.

"Who are you?" a little girls voice rang out from behind him, he turned, looking perplexed.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm Gracie" he tilted his head, this was clearly not the same Grace he had come to know and dare he say grown fond of, this child was small and weak looking, her skin was dull and her eyes were not as vibrant as the one he knew.

"Well…Gracie…I'm Castiel" he felt stupid using such a childish name to refer to her but the 'her' before him was not the 'her' he knew… _'wow…that was confusing.'_

"Oh, you're big brothers guardian angel. Bigger me really likes you." She spoke so casually, but he grew even more confused at the easy confession, if her older self knew what this child had just told him he was sure she'd find a way to shut her up.

"Where is bigger you?" Little grace stared at him for a moment and pointed down the pathway, "She's at the river, the one with all the pretty flowers." She said nothing more so he assumed she was going to lead him, but when she took off down the path in the other direction he sighed.

"Great…" Castiel started walking down the pathway again.

* * *

"He's been in there a while."

"Maybe she's gone dean…" Dean turned and looked at Sam with a pissed of expression.

"DAMMIT SAMMY! You and I both promised dad we'd keep her safe!" Sam wore a defensive expression.

"You don't think I know that dean? I know we promised but we can't save everyone, right?" Dean whipped around and landed a punch right in Sam's jaw, knocking hm to the floor.

"How can you be okay with this, she's our sister, Sam! She counted on both of us after dad died, she looked up to us and we almost got her killed." Sam stood and took his seat next to graces bed, staring at his little sisters face.

"it's not that I'm giving up on her, I'm just trying to be realistic. What if Cass can't bring her back?"

"Then we'll find some other way."

"You better not be talking about making a deal with a demon."

"If this doesn't work, what other choice do we have Sam. We've lost mom and dad, I am not losing Gracie too!"

Sam smiled momentarily, Gracie is what everyone had called her when they were little and honestly it was a sign that dean really cared about this situation. "Fine dean, you're right. Whatever it takes."

* * *

"Grace?" he distantly heard the sound of rushing water, he must be close to the river. The closer her got though the more concerned he grew, the flowers little grace had mentioned were all wilting some were dead entirely.

"Grace!?" still no response to his calls but the water was getting closer.

"She's there but you won't get an response, Castiel." He turned to see another of Graces remnants, she looked to be about 13 or 14 tops.

"You must be teenage grace"

"Well, you are observant aren't you?" Great, she went from being cute and tiny to being a total smart ass.

"Why won't she respond?" Grace smiled "guess you'll have to find out, won't you, feathers?" he frowned. _'feathers?'_ he cast her another look and then she was gone, he turned and started back down the path.

"It's your fault!" Castiel stopped and looked around for the new voice but saw no one.

"My fault?!, no, it's your fault! She's your responsibility too, man, she's our sister!" this must be a bad memory.

"You think I don't know that, Dean?!" Ah, so it was Sam and Dean fighting, but what was their fault, that's when the memory started to materialize.

"This was when they'd let me go play with a few other kids from some motel, it had gotten dark and I'd wandered out too far, it had started to rain and they really couldn't have known." Castiel turned in surprise to see grace standing next to him now, but he couldn't be sure she was the right one.

"Hello Grace." She turned and looked at him momentarily but said nothing, she was definitely not hi—not the one he was looking for, though she looked to be close.

"Why am I seeing this, none of the others had memories to show me."

"That's because she is starting to slip. You need to find her, when memories start playing back it means someone is dying, at least that's what all the books told us."

"She's dying?"

"Yes Cass, we're dying and you need to hurry. The Grace you're looking for is just a little further up the path and watch out for rocks." Wat? Why would he need to watch out for rocks? She disappeared and he took off running, if memories were playing back now he had seven minutes or less until she was gone.

"Grace!" he finally saw the river they had all talked about, but was not prepared to see the girl he was looking for in a heap on the ground, running over he knelt down.

"Grace…Grace!" he shook her but no response another memory flashed but this one he knew, it was the day he'd met the Winchesters formally, why was this important to her?

" _You sure you did the ritual right?" Bobby stared back at dean in mild contempt "Sorry, touchy touchy, huh?" The building they were in had begun to rattle._

" _Wishful thinking but maybe it's just the wind." Dean was stood with his weapon, the lights began to blow out, no possible way this was 'just the wind'_

" _Grace, stay back" the blonde frowned. "I'm an adult dean I can take care of myself." In that moment the door flew open and all three turned to see some guy walking in" he had walked clean past the devils trap and that's when they'd opened fire._

Castiel had forgotten she was there, but he vaguely smiled at the memory as it played.

" _Who are you?" dean looked directly at Castiel who stood in front of him_

" _I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition"_

" _Yeah, thanks for that."_

He now understood dean had been being sarcastic at the time, but he had smiled, because he had not understood. This was also when dean had tried to stab him with a demon blade.

" _Stop!" he had just put bobby to sleep at this point when someone had tackled him to the ground, a disadvantage to having a vessel._

" _What did you do?!" she was screaming at him as she sat on his chest, pinning his arms on either side of his head._

" _You are quite heavy…" Grace looked at him in fury and slapped him, effectively turning his head sharply to the side._

" _Hey, get out of here, I've got this." She climbed off his chest but flashed him a nasty look s she grabbed her bag and headed for the door._

Right…he had insulted her, why was this a good memory again? The memory changed again, he didn't have much time left.

"Grace wake up!" nothing, he gently put two finger to her forehead, not wanting to do use his powers but it seemed he had no choice.

"Alright grace. Come on." She finally sat up, the memories stopping their cycle.

"Cass? Cass why—How are you here?"

"there isn't time, you need to wake up." She looked confused.

"I don't understand, what do you mean I need to wake up, Cass?" he sighed "I mean, you're dying, Grace. Sam and Dean are doing what they can to keep the hospital from pulling the plug." Grace stopped him for a second.

"I'm dying?"

"Afraid so." She stared at him, full of uncertainty.

"What do I do, Cass?"

"We have to find the door"

"Door? What door?"

"The door out of your mind, it's usually your worst memory." Grace shook her head,

"Cass…I can't…I can't relive that." He didn't seem to understand,

"Why not?" that's when their location changed, it was a cabin, snow on the ground signaling it was winter.

"I'm afraid I don't under—"

"HELP ME!" Castiel looked startled for a second, that was Grace's voice, but she was standing right next to him, so there was no way.

"You can go in if you want…but I can't do it, I'm sorry." He looked back at the cabin and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be here, I won't let anything hurt you. Sam and dean are out there, waiting for you to wake up, Grace." She looked at him, then at the cabin and sighed.

"…fine, but please, stay close." He nodded and followed her into the cabin.

* * *

"Come on Cass, times running out." Dean stared at the heart rate monitor when a sudden gasp caused his eyes to trail back to his sister, who was now awake.

"Sam!" The taller brother ran in a few minutes after he was called, to see both Cass and Grace staring at him.

"Hi Sammy…" he looked between Grace and Dean for a moment, almost in disbelief.

"Hey Gracie." Dean ruffled her hair, much to her dismay and she frowned at him.

"I'll go get the doctor." Sam shot Cass a thankful look as he left the room.

"Thank god, don't you ever scare us like that again, Grace." She rolled her eyes, she'd been awake a whole two minutes and he was already giving her a 'dad' talk.

"I save your ass, don't you forget that." She spat back.

"I wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't gone and gotten yourself kidnapped"

"Oh sure, blame me. It's always my fault…I was safe and out of harm's way until you guys pissed off that demon and he came looking for leverage."

Same came back with the doctor and the fighting stopped, for a moment anyways.

"Well, Miss Moon. Your vitals seem to be normal, nothing wrong physically, just a few minor contusion and a broken arm, and considering what your brothers told me happened to you, this is nothing short of a miracle. I'll have your nurse write up the discharge papers and you'll be free to go."

"Thank you Doctor." She smiled casually as he left.

"Cass?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping me." She was certainly surprised when he actually smiled, "Of course." Dean looked between the two as they seemed to share another silent message, he shrugged and took a seat.

"So, I say after we get out of here, we get some real food, hospital food sucks." Grace nodded, "Yeah, I'm down for that. Sammy?" he nodded, smiling at his little sister.

"Sure." She beamed. "Cass?"

"I don't eat…" he replied simply.

"Yeah, but it's more fun when you're with good company."

"Come on Cass, come with us." He stared at her for a good long while before finally giving in.

"Fine." The only reason he had given in was because he couldn't seem to resist her smile, a feeling that deeply confused him.


	2. The Witch of Holberg part 1

"Hey, Think I might have found us a case" Dean and Grace looked up as Sam came into the main room of the bunker.

"Let's hear it, Sammy." He sat down and unfolded the paper. "6 people all died under mysterious circumstances up in Minnesota."

"Yeah, people disappear all the time, Sam, what else?" He flashed dean a bitch look as he kept explaining. "All the Vic's have one thing in common, they all visited the Holberg cemetery in Rapidan." Grace typed away on her computer.

"Says here that there is all kinds of strange occurrences there. From people claiming a witch lives there, to floating orbs by Henry Cotton's grave. Never hurts to go have a look, right?" Dean flashed her a look.

"No, you are staying here" Grace frowned, "But I can help."

"No, you can get in the way. Grace, you're staying here." she stood and slammed her good hand down on the table.

"Like Hell Dean, There is safety in numbers." She argued back.

"Dean, just let it go, otherwise we'll be here all night." He sighed, "Fine, let's just go." Grace beamed and hurried after her older brothers.

* * *

*Minnesota*

The three siblings stepped out of baby, fed. Outfits on, They headed towards the Blue earth county precinct.

"I'm Officer Peters, Welcome Gentleman and Lady." The sheriff greeted as they entered the building, flashing their badges. "If you don't mind my Asking, why's the FBI interested in disappearances"

"Well, we just go where the boss sends us." Dean told him.

"Well, Officer Williams will get you the case files." With that He left.

"Geez, who'd have thought Minnesota nice was so…nonexistent. Maybe it's just a cop thing." Dean gave her a look as Williams came back with some manila folders.

"Here you are officers, Not a lot to go on, but best of luck to you." Sam grabbed the folders from him and they left, heading for the nearest Motel.

* * *

"What a dump…I'm pretty sure that mold is alive…" Sam tried not to laugh at his sisters joke, it was the old riverfront motel, built in 1987. there were only two beds, but Grace had no problem sharing with her brothers, she'd done it numerous times as a child.

Sam set up his laptop on the desk by the door and started doing his usual research of the Area's history. Grace set her bag on the bed and grabbed a change of clothes, heading to the bathroom to change, her hair coming out of the bun it was in earlier.

"Well, looks like in the Rapidan Area, there's rumors of a witch by the name of SIna Strand, locals thought she was a witch because she practiced natural remedies, basically she was an herbalist."

"So she just liked plants? That's not so weird." Dean commented, putting a six pack of bear in the small refrigerator

"She was supposedly burned sometime in the 1900's, says she had several children but they've all since passed, there are no other known living relatives." Grace re-emerged from the bathroom in a pair of ripped skinny jeans a black tank top and one of Sam's confiscated flannel shirts, he quirked and eyebrow at his little sister.

"Hey, Is that my shirt?" she shrugged, "So what if it is?"

"Quit stealing my shirts, Grace." He said, a bit of a warning undertone in his voice, she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Sammy." Sam flashed her a look of annoyance before turning back to his computer, Why were 20 something's so difficult?

"Tonight I say we get some rest and go investigate tomorrow" Grace suggested flopping back onto a bed, Dean looked like an exasperated father figure.

"Why do we keep bringing her on hunts? She'd be fine if we left her with Bobby."

"Oh please, you boys know why you bring me along, and it's not just the witty banter." Her blue eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Shut up, Grace" Dean muttered pulling two bottles of beer from the fridge, offering one to Sam who took it. Being the youngest had it's perks, but there were definite draw backs as well. Like more often than not Grace wound up as bait during hunts because she sucked at 'Rock,Paper,Scissors'.

Her mind wandered to a vamp hunt back is Massachusetts, she'd definitely come out worse for wear after they'd gone in blind, Son of a bitch had bitten her before trying to feed her it's blood, which she quickly spit out after dean had chopped it's head off.

"…ace…Gracie, earth to little sis." She swatted deans hand away from her face,

"What?"

"Get some sleep, we're going out to conduct interviews in the morning." Sam told her, how long had she spaced out?

"Yeah Yeah." She grabbed er pajamas and stood, going to change again, once she was done she crawled back into the bed, looked like she was sharing with Sam tonight.

"Night Sammy, Night Dee."

"Goodnight Gracie."

"Goodnight Grace." And with that the lights were turned out.

* * *

*10:30 the next morning*

"You guys suck…" she found herself on the cold tiled floor of the motel room, dean had a cheeky smile on his face and Sam was in the small kitchen area making coffee, he looked guilty yet apologetic.

"Just wait Dean, you won't know when, or where, but I will get you back." He waved a hand dismissively at her as he went to get a cup of coffee.

"So, Rapidan. Before we start interrogating people can we get some food?" The brothers shared a glance.

"There is a place out there that has Pie." That was what sealed the deal for Dean. "I'm always down for Pie. Let's go." Grace laughed at his eagerness, he turned, the '6 year old grin' still plastered on his face.

"What's so funny?" she shook her head "Nothing, But let me get dressed before you go looking for* She was still in her pajamas, she grabbed her jeans and tank before nabbing Sam's flannel shirt again.

"Hey!" she stuck her tongue out as she walked past.

"Mine now!" she said through the now locked door, He shook his head at her childish antics.

"I'll get it back eventually, Grace" the door opened again and she looked up at him, his arms crossed as he attempted to look like a parent.

"If you say so, Dad. I can't help it if your shirts smell good, Sammy." He rolled his eyes as she walked past, sliding her boots on and grabbing her jacket.

"Let's go."

* * *

*Rapidan*

The Winchester siblings sat in a small diner known as 'The Dam Store.' Dean was basically inhaling his double bacon cheeseburger, he had a slice of Raspberry Rhubarb pie on the way after the waitress had insisted it was one of the best they had, Sam had ordered a salad as per his usual health food routine, and Grace had put in an order for a chocolate shake and some French fries.

"I'll never understand how you can eat the two things together." Sam gave his sister a bitchy look and she rolled her eyes.

"I attribute it to having a chaotic life on the road for the last…I don't know, 7 years!" she said reciprocating his bitchy look.

"Touche…" she went back to eating her fries and milkshake.

"So witnesses claim they have seen Miss Strand performing witch craft, simple little things mostly, like fixing a child's broken arm, and curing ailments like the common cold. She doesn't seem like our typical witch."

"Well something has to be up. Witches are never doing anything good for free, they always have a price." He finished his burger and the waitress brought him his Slice of pie, which he also inhaled, Sam and Grace watched him reproachfully.

"Dude…It's a piece of pie."

"Yeah, not that girl you picked up last week, chill. Enjoy the pie." Grace interjected, Sam spit out his drink at his sister's statement.

"What? I'm 22…I know what sex is Sammy." He flashed her a horrified look, Dean just looked at her in surprise, some pie hanging from his mouth.

"That's attractive, Dean…" He gave her a bitch face and went back to his food. Once he was finished her straightened up and wiped his face.

"So what, we think she's taking energy or something from the people she helps, or what?"

"It's not farfetched, I mean the witch in Tangled was using Rapunzel's hair to stay young, what if this is something similar?

"Did you just compare a real life witch…to a Disney character?"

"Yes, Yes I did."

"So you honestly think she's singing a little song and taking peoples energy?" Grace gave dean a nasty look as he mocked her.

"No! god, you two are such assholes sometimes, Maybe You should have brought Castiel, you seem so keen on his ideas!" Grace stood, leaving some money on the table before leaving, Sam and Dean watching her go.

"Way to go, Dean." Sam said

"What?"

* * *

Grace wandered down the road, sure she was a child compared to her older brothers but that didn't mean she couldn't have accurate points.

"Assholes.* As she continued walking down the road a few people had stopped to offer her a ride or ask what she was doing walking out in the area to begin with, she politely answered their question and then turned the rides down, just wanting to think.

"Hello young lady." She stopped walking once again, she had probably managed to put a few miles between her and the boys in the 30 minutes she'd been walking, no doubt in her mind Dean had ordered more food. She noticed the woman who had stopped had to be in her early 40's at least, Dark brown hair and piercing green eyes.

"Where ya headed?"

"Nowhere in particular Ma'am, just on a walk to clear my head" What happened next was all a blue, one minute she felt fine and then the next, everything was black.

* * *

"No way she could have gotten far." Dean had paid the bill and he and Sam went out to the Impala "Just hope she didn't get in a car with anyone" if only he knew.

"If you hadn't pissed her off she wouldn't have left.

"Hey, this isn't all on me, Sam. You were cracking jokes too"

"Yeah, but I wasn't an asshole about it, Dean." The two brothers bickered back and forth as Dean started the car, he'd gotten directions to the surrounding towns and now they were speeding off down the high way.

"Wake up!" she felt cold water hit her face.

"Wh-What? Where am I?"

"You're in my house, Grace Winchester." It was the woman she'd seen before blacking out, She tried to move, wanting to run, but it was no use. Her legs and arms were tied down.

"Ah Ah, Dear. You're going to answer some of my questions, then Maybe I won't kill you… quickly." Grace flashed the woman a defiant look.

"Go fuck yourself, Lady." She looked appalled for a moment but grinned.

"You think I'm giving you a choice, Grace?" Grace felt a sharp pain inside her head, but refused to give into the woman.

"G-Go. Fuck.Y-Yourself…"

"Acus."

"Sam, you got a lock on where she could possibly Be?" Thy had driven up and down the current stretch of road 4 times now and no sign of their little sister.

"Yeah, turning it on n—Says she's in someone's house, next town over."

"She's not stupid enough to go in alone…" He paused as something seemed to come to mind,

"this is bad."


	3. The Witch of Holberg part 2

Grace had definitely looked better, by the time Sina was done with her.

"I've lived in this town since the 1800's watched it grow and expand, watched my family come and go while I remain young thanks to my craft."

"So what, you're feeding off them to…?"

"Feeding off of them, how repulsive. I'm a witch dear, not one of those mangy flea bags or blood suckers." Grace laughed.

"So how do you possibly stay so young? Some popular Hollywood Diet, Paleo? Weight Watchers? Santa Clarita?" Sina was growing more irritated.

"Quiescis." She found herself unable to speak as Sina circled around her again

"I find you very Annoying, little girl."

* * *

"Where the GPS taking us, Sam?"

"166 Lilly street, Lake crystal."

"Dammit! Call Cas, were gonna need him on this one."

"Are you sure, Dean? I mean I think we can handle a single witch." Dean gave his brother a look.

"Just call Cas, alright." Same rose his hands defensively and pulled out his phone.

* * *

Another piercing scream echoed in the basement of Sina's House "Secare!"

"STOP!" Graces voice echoed In the damp almost empty space, bloody tears streaked her face.

"Answer my question, Winchester. Why are you hunting me? up until our little party here, I've done nothing wrong except kill a few homeless folks who no one would miss, but a witch needs her spell ingredients." She flashed a twisted grin

Grace new she shouldn't have been so rash about leaving her brothers at the diner, but Dean had managed to piss her off and Sam had just sat there, but it was her fault she was even here, and she knew that.

The sound of footsteps upstairs roused her from her thoughts.

"Sounds like the party came to us." Sina flashed a wicked grin as she cast the silencing spell again before going back upstairs.

* * *

"Hello Boys." Sam and Dean aimed their guns at the woman who'd emerged, "Where is she?"

"I'm sure I don't know who you're talking about."

"The girl, where is she?" Castiel frowned at the woman's act of ignorance.

"Ah, so the Winchesters are keeping an Angel, How adorable." Now all of them frowned. "It's true, I do have your little sister, but I'm not going to just give her back to you."

"Then we'll kill you and just take her back." Dean informed her, cocking the gun and preparing to shoot.

"I'm quite old, dear. Bullets won't kill me."

"Oh, these will. Trust me. Now tell us where you have Grace." There as a warning tone to his voice now as he silently signaled for Sam and Castiel to start looking, Sam's gun still aimed as he inched around the woman, who rolled her eyes and with a flick of her wrist sent him flying into the nearest wall.

"Children shouldn't play with such dangerous toys." Sina said, scolding him like a mother would her own child.

* * *

Grace had managed to unbind her hands and was working on her feet when a sudden loud crash echoed from the upstairs area.

"What the hell?" she scrambled to get the ropes untied faster, once she was free she hurried as fast as she could, despite injury, to get upstairs. As soon as she flung the door open though she ducked, Sina caught sight of her and slammed the door shut again, sealing it with magic.

"HEY!" she kicked at the door, trying to get it to budge but to no avail.

"Son of a bitch" it was then that she realized the woman had left her book of spells down stairs and she grinned.

* * *

"Cas, the basement!" The angel seemed to understand and disappeared, popping himself into the dingy space while Dean tried to keep her distracted long enough.

"Grace?" She grabbed Sina's book before hurrying over, the Angel noted how bad a shape she was in as she came into his line of vision.

"Castiel?"

"They told me to come get you, She's giving them a serious fight up there."

"I found her book." Grace said holding it out to him, "Think you can get it back to the bunker and come back?"

"But I'm just supposed to get—" She cut him off and pointed to the window "I've got this, just take the book so it's safe, Castiel."

"You're in no shape to fight." She frowned, he'd never been this stubborn before, usually he'd have done as he was asked. She stepped towards him and he got a much better look at the extent of her injuries.

"Castiel. Please? I'll be fine." Her blood-stained face drew into a smile but he still looked uncertain.

"Fine, but first…" He looked towards the door at the top of the stairs and focused his energy into blasting it apart. Grace looked stunned.

"I didn't know you could do that." He seemed to shrug of her astonishment as she handed him the book and he disappeared.

* * *

Sam and dean were not doing so well against Sina when grace finally managed to get out of the basement.

"Hey, bitch!" Sina whipped around, forgetting about the brothers for a moment.

"How did you possibly get out of there?" Grace smirked "Angel Mojo." She then looked at her brothers.

"Remind me never to piss Cas, off." Dean just grinned at his sister, as Sina rose a hand to knock her back.

"I sent your grimoire somewhere far away as well, somewhere you'll never find it." Sam and dean looked mildly impressed, Grace hadn't been on many hunts as per Deans commands, but the ones she had been on she had proven to be quite useful in securing things that could be useful.

"You sent my book with the angel!?" Grace just beamed before she was sent flying into the china hutch, Dean too the opportunity to take a shot, catching Sina in the shoulder. She stood stunned for a second before rounding and sending him flying.

"HEY!" Sam had flung his gun over to her while Dean had distracted Sina, Grace was now back on her feet, her fingers all set to pull the trigger. "What goes Cackle, Cackle, Boom?" Sina looked confused, this was hardly a time for jokes, she got ready to blast the young Winchester again but before she had a chance Grace fired.

"You." the bullet went right through Sina's head and her body dropped. Sam and Dean walked over to observe Sina's dead body. "Nice shot" Grace handed the gun back to Sam who tucked it away.

"Thanks. I've been practicing." Dean clapped a hand on her shoulder, "You did good kid." She puffed out her cheeks like a child "Way to ruin the moment, Dean." Castiel chose that moment to reappear.

"Grace, the book is…" he stopped seeing Sina's dead body, he looked at the three siblings.

"We had it handled, thanks Cas." She smiled as she headed for the door As Sam poured gasoline over Sina's body and Dean dropped the match.

* * *

They all piled into the back of the Impala and started the long drive back to Kansas.

"Hey, I'm sorry about back at the diner." Grace feigned shock, "What, the great Dean Winchester is apologizing to me? Will miracles never cease?" Sam and dean both cracked smiles.

"Shut up." He said laughing as they continued driving, Cas cut into the fun they were having.

"Grace?" She turned to look at the angel, "Yeah?" Was there a hint of concern in his voice, or maybe it was annoyance.

"Why did you run off?" there it was…the huge elephant in the room.

"Cas, Just drop it. we've worked past it." Dean informed him

"She could have gotten herself killed, Dean." Grace was getting annoyed now.

"Castiel." He turned to look at her, and for a second she swore she could see something in his eyes, Anger…Fear?

"I don't want to lose any of you, not after all I've done to make sure you stay safe."

"I don't need protecting Castiel, I'm a big girl and I can handle myself." Whatever it was that was in his eyes before grew, it was definitely anger.

"Can this fight wait until we're back to the bunker?"

"I'm not Angry with you, Grace."

"Really, could of fooled me with the dad tone." She reciprocated his tone, "Because up until the last month or so you've ignored the very fact that I existed." His eyes narrowed, "I was not ignoring you… I just wasn't sure I could trust you." Open mouth and insert foot, Castiel had managed to piss her off now.

"You weren't sure you could trust me? Oh well that makes everything okay now doesn't it, Castiel?" you could hear Sam take in a sharp breath from the front seat.

"Grace that's not what I—"

"I see how it is, after all I've been through since they let me start hunting, you think I'm waiting for the moment to kill them, you think I'm a demon or one of the creatures they hunt. If that's the case why didn't you just let me die back in the hospital?"

"Because Dean asked me to—"

"Oh, Dean asked you to save me?" she glared "And you love Dean so much you'll do anything for him, except trust his family."

"You're only half family." He really should have shut up because the second after he had said that he felt a sharp pain across his face as she slapped him.

"Fuck you, Castiel." Dean cut into their conversation,

"Cas, Maybe you should just go."

"Yeah Cas, Maye you should pull one of your vanishing acts. You're real good at that." He looked wounded now as Grace spoke.

"Alright…call me if you need my help." And with that he was gone.


	4. Kissed by an Angel

*A few weeks later*

Cas and Grace hadn't said a word to one another since the job in Minnesota, and they had taken quite a few more jobs since then.

"Grace come on, you can't stay cooped up in there forever."

"Sure I can." Dean sighed as he signaled Sam to pick the lock, within a few seconds they were in and a fight ensued as Sam tried to grab her, with great difficulty.

"Dammit Sammy, Let me go!"

"Not until you sit and Talk to Cas. Come on Grace, it's been weeks."

"Who cares!" she lashed out at him, she knew she was being childish but she wanted nothing to do with the angel right now. Unfortunately she now found herself handcuffed to a chair across the table from Castiel Himself.

"Grace."

"Castiel" her eyes were narrowed

"We need to talk…Alone." He looked at the brothers who took the hint and left, "We're going to go get food, fridge is almost empty." Sam and Dean left, leaving the two alone now in awkward silence.

"So, you wanna talk, Talk, Castiel."

"Well first off, I owe you an apology"

"Damn right you do." The irritated look in his eyes was back.

"Stop acting like a child, Grace."

"Stop treating me like one, Asstiel" he frowned at the nickname and chose to sit in silence a while longer, knowing she couldn't go anywhere. As the minute drug on Grace began to feel uncomfortable.

"Are you done?" she rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe actually let myself…I'm so stupid."

"Grace you're not stupid. You took out Sina and got the grimoire."

"That's not why I'm stupid, Castiel. I'm stupid because I thought for one second that Maybe, Just maybe someone other tha my brothers cared about what happened to me, I'm stupid because I fell for someone who doesn't care at all." Castiel looked confused.

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"I fell for someone who can't love me back." He still didn't seem to understand.

"I can find one of the cupids if you want me—" she sighed in exasperation.

"You really are dense, Castiel. It's not that simple, the person I fell for is forbidden from having relations with humans. But it doesn't matter anyways, He's proven to be quite an asshole." Realization finally hit him.

"Me? Grace, I'm flattered but with everything going on I Can't—"

"Castiel, Just don't." she frowned at him, " I get it, I'm just the unplanned spare, the bastard half-sister of the Winchester siblings you've grown so fond of. I don't belong." Castiel stood and walked towards her.

"That's not wat I was going to say, Grace" She looked up at him as he towered over her. "What then? Going to take more digs at me now that I can't run?" He bent down to look her in the eyes.

"Are you going to keep cutting me off, Grace?" he smelled like peppermint and cedar trees, what an odd combination but it was calming. Wen she said nothing he continued.

"Yes, I was angry in the car, and I said something I should not have. But now so have you. Angels are forbidden from having Dalliances with Humans." Grace watched his lips move and eventually turned her head away from him to keep herself from doing something she'd regret, Cas noticed she seemed to be uncomfortable, he wondered if he'd upset her again.

"Cas…could you back up a bit?" he tilted his head but did not move, his hand reaching out now to touch her face, but he stopped at the last second, his hand dropping back to the arm of the chair where her arms rested.

"Tell me why." She turned to look at him again, surprise on her face. "why what?"

"Why Me?" Grace looked like a kid put on blast, "I thought you were nice." Okay, he would admit that kind of stung.

"But I see you're just like the rest of them now, Castiel. Cold, Heartless."

"I see…I am sorry you feel that way, but I assure you, I do care…About all of you." He took a step back and looked her over, scars from the fight with Sina had become less angry but he'd be damned if he didn't say that her scars upset him, she was exquisite.

"Hold still." Grace looked at him as he pressed two fingers to her forehead "What are you…?" She felt a warm sensation spread throughout her body and it was over in a few seconds.

"What did you do?" he gave her an attempt at a smile "I healed you…you look better without the scars." She caught a small look of admiration in his eyes now as the door to the bunker rattled.

"Wanna help me get revenge?" He caught the mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Revenge…for what?"

"Cas, will you help me or not? I want to get back at Sam and dean for handcuffing me to a chair."

"Okay but I don't see—"

"Kiss me." He was caught off guard by her sudden forwardness.

"Grace I just told you that I—"

"Relax Cas, I get it. I just want to piss them off. You should be angry too, I don't know what they told you to get you down here but I bet it was a lie." She wasn't wrong, alright he'd play. He walked towards her and knelt down, tilting her head up towards him with one finger, just as the door opened he sealed the gap. He'd never admit it but he felt a sudden spark.

* * *

As Sam and Dean reached the bottom of the stairs, Both brothers sat stunned, there, where they had left Cas and Grace to talk, was now a scene of them making out.

"Holy crap…Casa Ertica is in our house..." Cas and Grace broke apart now, their sister's face was flush and her lips were slightly swollen.

"Dude, this was NOT what I meant by talk it out." Sam was still silent but was giving his little sister one of his 'Really' faces, the one he used when he was silently disappointed in her decisions.

"Oh we had a talk alright." She smirked "And it's on you that this looked even remotely wrong, who handcuffed me to the chair in the first place, Dean?" she said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, so you two could TALK, not so you and Cas could have a steamy make out session!" Cas stood awkwardly off to the side now, he looked conflicted as Dean uncuffed Grace.

"You think you know a guy." Grace flashed Dean a look.

"We only made out to piss you off, you lied to Poor Cas and handcuffed me to a chair, so we decided it was the perfect pay back."

"Wait…so you two aren't?" Grace smiled and shook her head, "But he is a fantastic Kisser." She winked at the angel, who was now avoiding her gaze, in the next second he was gone.

"Geez, he's always in such a hurry." She shrugged and shook her head.

"Want my help putting things away?"

Dean handed her some bags and she walked off towards the kitchen.

Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them. Please keep them coming, they are good motivation

P.S Casting for Grace is Gemma Ward, google a pic of her :)


	5. Mans best friend with benefits

"Wow, ya know, of all the lame ass things you've ever said, That's gotta be the Lame-assiest."

"I'm sorry, but I happen to think that Shemp was a funnier Stooge than Curly."

"Curly was a frickin genius!" Grace rolled her eyes as she grabbed her bag and climbed out of the car.

"Can we not have an argument about the stooges in the parking lot?"

"Shut up, Grace." Dean gave her a look and she rose her hands defensively. "Fine then…I'll go up to the room while you two debate about which fictional character is better in bed." She pushed past them both and headed to their room.

"I always found Curly's work a bit obvious."

"It's supposed to be obvious, Man. They're stooges." Grace unlocked the door and then closed it to drown out their stupid argument.

* * *

"I'm gonna go for a beer run. You two want anything?" Grace was busy setting up her computer when Dean made the offer.

"Get some snacks or something, I am not eating gas station sandwiches again, yesterday was a terrible day." Sam and Dean both shared a disgusted expression, Dean because he had had to clean Grace's puke out of the back seat of 'Baby' and Sam….well she'd gotten it all over him before dean had pulled over…the first time.

"Yeah, No, No more gas station anything for you shortstop." Grace frowned at his nickname as Dean grabbed his keys off the table and walked out the door. Not even five minutes passed before something started scratching on the door.

"Sammy, something's at the door." He poked his head out of the bathroom before walking over to find out what it was.

"It's….a dog?" Grace walked over and looked at it, "She's gorgeous." Kneeling down she held out her hand for the dog to sniff as Sam peeked around to look for an owner, as he did this the dog sprinted inside.

"Oh, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." She made herself at home on one of the beds and Sam looked uncertain of what to do.

"Hey, you friendly? Friendly. Good. Alright. You're a pretty dog." Grace snickered "Someone got a crush on the pretty puppy?" He shot his sister a 'shut up' look and she backed off as the dog rolled over for Sam to rub her belly.

* * *

As Dean pulled up Sam hurried outside to try and convince Dean to let the dog stay, Grace on the other hand was absolutely shocked when as soon as he left the room she turned into a Person.

"Oh….this'll be good."

"Two seconds ago she was a dog. Alright, who the hell are you?"

"Not a shape shifter, so you can stash the blade."

"Try a familiar, Sammy." Dean looked over at his little sister in surprise, "You knew?" she rolled her eyes, "Could have been a werewolf, but ya know…still human so had to be a Familiar."

"A familiar splits their time between human and animal form."

"I get a more accurate read on people in my other persona. Approaching guys in a motel room like

This—"

"And Girls." Grace interrupted, put off by the fact that this familiar seemed to ignore her presence in the room, the familiar flashed Grace a nasty look.

"Well, it get complicated. My names Portia. I belong to James Frampton." Dean looked at her like she had said something wrong, "No, No, No. See, that—doesn't work for us, 'cause that would mean that our buddy James is a Witch.

"Wow. You're quick."

"James is a freakin witch?"

"He wasn't when you met him. But that last case you worked on with him—"

"Lunatic alchemist. It was nasty."

"James wanted to learn more about that world—The black arts, Witchcraft. It became the center of his life.

"Wait, so you're telling me that James the cop became a witch because of us? Unh-Unh." Portia looked mildly offended now as Dean laughed at her explanation, Grace sat back watching things unfold.

"You don't like dogs, do you?"

"Wait. So James isn't a cop anymore?"

"Sure he is. Homicide detective. His new powers make his work even better."

"Then what does he need from us?" Portia finally turned to look at Grace, "He doesn't need anything from you, he only asked for your brothers, you're just a spare." Graces eyes narrowed, "Someone needs to be spayed." Portia narrowed her eyes in return to graces offhanded comment.

"Enough you two." The two women rolled their eyes and Portia went back to explaining. "Well, Something's been happening to him. It started with excruciating headaches, Screaming sounds in his ears, Horrible nightmares. Unable to sleep or think. He can't work. It—It's like he's having a breakdown. Maybe you can find a way to help him.

"Well, Here's the thing. Uh, witches—not real fans." Portia advanced on Dean, like a dog baring her teeth. "Really? Well, James is a cop with a spotless record. He's used his skills for nothing but good. So why don't you lose the ignorant bigotry for maybe two seconds and give him a shot?"

"That was incredibly hot." Grace looked at Dean Incredulously, was he seriously getting turned on by a witches familiar? "It was pretty hot…" Grace wanted to give them both a cold shower.

"Hey boys…stop thinking with your dicks for five seconds, you gonna help the little doggy or what?" Portia sent her Another nasty look, Grace just smiled and waved her off.

* * *

"You had no right to do this!"

"I was afraid for your life."

"My life is none of their business! Grace sat awkwardly in one of the corners as the two yelled back and forth to one another, finally she reemerged as a dog and ran off before James came out.

"Sam, Dean…um…who are you?" His eye landed on Grace.

"Um…Sorry, they made me come along. I'm Grace, Grace Winchester." He shook her hand as Dean interjected. "Witchcraft, James? Really? What the hell were you thinking?"

"You come to help or pile on?" James pulled his hand away, letting it fall back to his side.

"I'm just saying, You screw with that stuff you're gonna fry your wiring."

"Alright." Sam cut him off, his tone soft. "Look, why don't you tell us about those dreams. She said people were dying in them."

"Dying? They were torn to bits. I, Uh, I could feel my fingers ripping into their flesh." Grace decided to excuse herself as the guys talked.

* * *

"Vic's were all torn up pretty bad."

"Like someone shredded them with their bare hands. Like that could happen." Grace walked behind Sam as they waked through the precinct. "Ed Stolz, He's the lead on the case. Special Agent's Keith and Mathers."

"Josh here tells us you don't have a lot to go on."

"Yeah. Isolated parts of the city, Vics who meant nothing to nobody, so…" Grace looked skeptical, "Right."

"Well My partner and I had a look at the crime scenes." "Things must be really slow at the bureau." Officer Stolz gave Grace a once over, "Aren't you a bit young to be an agent?"

"With all due respect, I'm 22, graduated top of my class. You could say I'm a bit of a prodigy." He seemed to mull the information over, "Agent Mathers is one of our top agents Mr. Stolz." He nodded his head as if finally approving after Sam stood up for her. "Uh Huh…Locations have already been knocked down."

"Well, we did manage to find a piece of fabric. Things get overlooked. It happens. Why don't you run the blood? Could be the vic. It could be the doers. Let's see if we get a match."

"A witness did mention seeing a man in a suit and a white shirt leaving the area, so…"

"You didn't mention a witness in your report. Anything else?" Officer Stolz seemed annoyed Sam was poking his nose into how he wrote up his reports, grace only noticed because his tone changed once the serious questions started.

"No. We'll get back to you on the lab work. So if that's all—"

"Sure, but this witness—"

"That's all that was said, Agent Keith. We really don't have a lot here, okay? We'll be in touch."

* * *

"But I can Help, Dean." Sam and Dean had insisted Grace stay behind. "Dammit, Grace, I said no. You're not coming along and that's final." Sam flashed her an apologetic glance as he grabbed his jacket and the two left the motel.

Sighing she set about looking over the case files, all the really boring crap that Officer Stolz seemed to deem worthy of filing, when something struck her, they never got the witnesses name. "Son of a bitch…" She pulled out her phone and called Dean, she got no answer.

"Dammit Dean answer the phone." She tried again as she grabbed her coat and ran out to hail a cab, still dressed in her suit from earlier.

"Son of a bitch!" she stopped trying to call Dean and Called Sam.

"Hello?"

"Oh thank god. Sam, you have to listen to me. It's not James, It's Agent Stolz."

"Yeah, Grace, we know. James has it all figured out now, We're going after Phillippe LeChat—" there was a sudden loud boom and then nothing.

"Sam? SAM!?" she gave the cab driver the bars address that she snagged out of Deans coat pocket earlier and the car sped off.

* * *

"James!" James and Spencer both turned as Grace stepped into the bar, "Grace? Get out of here, it isn't safe!" she didn't care "James, He's been the one framing you, He's been working with Stolz. Spencer wants to have you killed."

"I'll humbly accept the credit, thank you young lady." James looked between the two of them, "You Made me think I was a killer. Ed Stolz put you up to it. He found out you were a witch, blackmailed you."

"That's not it at all James, if that were the case, why'd he kill Phillipe?" Spencer chuckled as Grace continued her speech. "That's enough out of you, why don't you shut up for a while." He snapped his fingers and she started to feel like she was suffocating.

"You're not using your thinking Cap, Jimmy." James looked back at Grace "Let her go, she has nothing to do with this." He didn't comply. "It was actually crucial tat he didn't believe in the occult. I'd say he's built quite a. solid case, Don't you?"

"I don't understand." Grace continued to gasp for air as their conversation continued, "I don't understand." He finally called off the spell, but only long enough for her to regain some color, in the few seconds she had of oxygen she had gotten to her feet, but once the spell started again she used the wall for balance to inch towards anything she could find as a weapon.

"Of course you don't. Neither of you ever considered _my_ feelings."

"Portia. This is about her?"

"Can you imagine the insult when she chose you? I wanted her as my soul mate the moment I saw her."

"She was meant to be my familiar."

"Oh, She's way more than familiar , isn't she? When she picked you as master, I endured it. But when you two went all Bella and Edward, Broke the code, Put your passions before the community rules, well, all the arrogance, the entitlement was too much. Your total ruination seemed appropriate" Grace looked over to see Dean approaching from behind Spencer.

"The wiccan from Detroit." Dean distracted spencer and Grace was finally able to breather properly again. "So, James didn't kill those—" Spencer shut them up by throwing them back into the wall. James took that opportunity to blast him with some magic.

"Seriously, you want to take me on?" Spencer fought back by blasting James and lifting him, painfully It appeared, into the air

"Hey, Asshole!" Grace had her gun drawn and cocked as Portia darted into the bar and knocked spencer to the floor, breaking his hold on all of them, Grace sped over, gun aimed right at his forehead.

"Sam, Dean, NOW!." Spencer threw Portia aside and was getting back to his feet.

" _Ego voco impetus Delere...Vos Caelem Et Infernum."_ Grace and James both watched as the witch killing spell destroyed spencer, leaving a cloud of red smoke to dissipate as James went to check on Portia, Sam and dean looked over at Grace with serious disapproval.

"We told you to stay in the room."

"I know, but I knew you wouldn't get here in time, admit it." Sam and Dean still looked at her disapprovingly, and she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I Saved your asses and you know it."

"We'll talk about this in the car, Grace."

* * *

"Okay guys, the quiet is really killing me back here." it had been quiet in the car for the last hour.

"What the hell were you thinking, Grace? Did you think you could just play hero and—"

"That's not fair Dean and you know it. I'm a hunter now too, whether you like it or not and I was just doing what you taught me to. Saving people, that's what we do, isn't it?"

"Don't try and turn this on me, Grace. I'm not the bad guy here."

"Really Dean? Then what are you? Because you're sure as hell not acting like my big brother."

"Dammit Grace, we lost our mom, we lost dad, we've lost too many people, we're not going to lose you too!"

"Hey, Easy Dean. Calm down." Sam's voice was balanced as usual. "Grace, while what you did tonight was good, what Dean is trying to say is we're family, we need to stay together." Dean stayed quiet as Sam spoke.

"We haven't been together all that long, and I get that adjusting to this is hard, but when we say we have something handled, you need to trust us. You can't keep putting yourself in danger like this."

"I get that, Sam, I do…I'm just tired of being treated like glass."

* * *

So, that's where I am going to end it for this chapter, quite a bit longer than usual but I am thoroughly pleased with the length. Anyways, Please tell me whether you like the story or not I'd love o hear from you guys. I think the next chapter will contain cute little fluffs :3


	6. Grace-stiel?

*Castiels P.O.V*

I never understood sleep, it left you open, vulnerable, and yet she looked so at peace, so calm and gentle. She was different from when she was awake. Awake Grace was calm, yes, but also collected and calculating, Usually the type to ask questions before acting rashly, however, with Sam and Dean as her older siblings sometimes that wasn't an option.

Crouching down beside her bed I reached to move some hair that had fallen in her face, unaware she was a light sleeper. "Cas?" looks like I'd been caught this time. "Shh, go back to Sleep, Grace."

"Cas, why are you here? Is something wrong?" another thing that fascinated me about her, she always put others before herself, it was endearing yet upsetting she never thinks to put herself first, shaking my head she continued to stare at me. "Then what?" how would I word this in a way that didn't make me sound like a strange person.

"I…like to watch you sleep." She raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?" she wasn't mad? Interesting. "I get it Cas, Angels don't sleep. I don't mind you watching me, it's actually rather comforting."

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not, it's nice to know I have you watching over me, Cas." She patted the empty space next to her, I sat down. "It's…reassuring." She smiled and I couldn't help but give her a small one back.

"Well, I'm awake now, did you want to talk?" I shook my head at her question. "I didn't mean to wake you, I can put you back to sleep if you'd—"

"Will you Stay?"

"What?" her question caught me off guard, "I asked if you'd stay. I'd enjoy your company, Castiel." Should I say no, no one's ever asked me to stay before. Sam and Dean bring me along on their jobs from time to time but they never ask me to stay once things are said and done.

"If that is what you want." She folded the blanket back so I could lay down, this was…awkward.

"You always smell like Mint and Cedar trees."

"Is that so? Does it smell bad?" she laughed softly, a sound I'd grown accustomed to during my time on Earth, "No, not at all. I find it…rather calming." As she yawned I could tell she was starting to fall asleep again.

"Grace?"

"Yeah, Cas?" her voice was softer now as she got more comfortable. "Why...What does it mean when your heart speeds up?" she looked up at me, "Speeds up? Speeds up how? Like when you run or something else?"

"Something else" she seemed to be thinking about possibilities, ways to answer my question. "It could mean you like someone."

"I like a lot of people." She laughed again, I didn't understand what was so funny. "Not that kind of Like, Cas, The romantic kind."

"Romantic?"

"Yeah, you know, like in old timey movies, where the guy falls in love with a girl he barely knows, they get married and have kids."

"I…don't understand." Grace motioned for me to lay down and then propped herself up on her elbow, "What don't you understand, Cas?"

"Love. It's foreign."

"Its foreign to me too, I don't think I've ever been in love, but I've felt love. Like…with Sam and Dean, for example, They're my brothers and I love them in the Familial sense, or how I feel about certain foods."

"I don't eat…" she just shook her head, "I know, Cas. It was just an example. The point is, there are a lot of different kinds of love."

"I see…I think I kind of understand."

"That's good." She yawned again. "I'm sorry, I'm keeping you awake. Get some sleep." I tried to get up to leave but she grabbed onto my trench coat. "You said you'd stay."

"But I—"

"No Buts, Cas. Angels shouldn't break promises." Laying back down I rolled over to face her. "Good Night Grace."

"Good night Cas."

* * *

*Next morning*

She was surprised to find that Castiel hadn't left when she'd gone back to sleep, in fact, he himself was asleep, exactly where he'd laid down the night before.

"Cas?" he stirred a bit, finally opening to reveal the blue eyes Grace had grown so fond of, not that she'd ever tell him, or that he'd tell her he felt a sort of happiness when he saw her.

"Good morning, Sleepy head." He looked confused, but realization son set in. "I was…asleep?"

"It's always good for recharging your batteries." She grinned as he sat up, laughing at his tousled bed head. "What's so funny?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Your hair, it's…all over the place. Like you had a rough night with a hooker." He tilted his head again, "But I didn't…I was here—" Grace laughed "I wasn't being literal, Cas." He looked at the ground, "I see."

"Hey Now, don't beat yourself up, you'll get the hang of jokes eventually, Cas." She smiled and Climbed out of the bed to get dressed. "The guy's went to scope out what we're hunting, wanna come with me to grab food?"

"I don't eat."

"I know, but I'd still really enjoy the company, Cas, Please?" he turned around at the wrong moment, seeing her with only her bra and skinny jeans on, he felt his face heat up. "U-Um, I didn't mean t-to turn…" She turned to face him, tugging her tank top down "Hmm?" she suddenly realized what he'd meant.

"Oh…Oh God! Cas, I am so sorry, I didn't even think that you'd be uncomfortable. I'm an idiot, of course you'd be uncomfortable, you're an angel…" he couldn't help but smile as she rambled on, once she was dressed she grabbed her wallet and opened the door, "After you." He titled his head again but stood, following her out.

* * *

So, yes. I know, short chapter. Shame on me but it's the first time they two have really been alone with one another and I wanted to try my hand at writing some fluff. PLEASE! Let me know how I did.


	7. goodbye stranger

"No, Cas, Don't!" there were tons of copies of Dean and Grace all over the warehouse, Cas had been made to kill them both, repeatedly, eventually had had just become numb to their screams and pain. But something felt wrong as he kept stabbing the youngest sibling, there was something in him that hurt every time he watched the light drain from her eyes.

"No Hesitation. Quick. Brutal. Everything is back in order. Finally. You're ready."

' _Something isn't right.'_ Hethought as Naomi walked away, leaving him alone again to look over all the dead copies.

* * *

*A few weeks Later*

As Dean rummaged through the odds and ends of items in the bunker Grace headed back up towards her room

"the hell is this?...The spear of destiny…what is this—gods toothpick? You know would it have killed theses asshats to label these boxes in something other than Hieroglyphics? It's ridiculous." she shook her head as she kept walking, finally stopping at the door to her room.

"It's good to be home. No more crusty hotel rooms." I tossed my bag into the corner and flopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling until a knock sounded on the door. "Come in."

"Hey Kid, we're uh, heading out on another job, you coming along or do you wanna hang back?" She looked at Sam "We haven't been home for very long and you already want to head out on another job?"

"You called it home." She looked at him like he had two heads. "Uh Yeah, should I not? I mean we did kind of set up base camp, Sam."

"No, No, that's fine, just kind of weird to admit we finally have a permanent home again." Grace raised an eyebrow. "I had a permanent home….before my mom died…before I got dragged into this mess."

"Gracie, it's been 7 years, you need to let that go." She frowned, "Thought you were going on a job?"

"We are, just wanted to see if you were in." she rolled her eyes "I'm going to sit this one out, after the last few jobs I need a break. But tell me about it when you guys get back." Sam nodded, ruffling her hair as he stood to leave.

* * *

"Grace." She turned to see Castiel had popped into her room, and at a very awkward moment, once again, as she had just gotten out of the shower. "Oh my god! Cas!" The angel suddenly turned red and quickly turned away from her. "You have really gotta start picking better times to pop in on people."

"I am sorry, I didn't know you were bathing." She sighed and hurriedly got dressed. "You can turn around now, I'm dressed." Castiel turned to face her as she ran a brush through her hair.

"You are not with your brothers? " she shook her head "No, I've been through the ringer with the last few jobs, I decided to sit back for this one, they can handle it. You're not helping them?" Castiel shook his head. "I was on my way there, but I figured… Maybe… I would stop in and check on you."

"Aww, you're sweet, Cas, really. I appreciate that you thought of me." She caught sight of a small smile on his face. "Anyways, god knows what Sam and Dean got into, Maybe you should go?"

"Yes….Yes, I should go." He had his angel blade behind his back, ready to attack her like he had been trained to do, but something stopped him, though he wasn't sure what, all he knew was that there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him not to harm her. In the next instance he was gone.

* * *

*With Sam and Dean*

" _What should I tell them?" Castiel asked Naomi_

" _The truth, Most of it, anyways. Maybe they can get us closer." She informed as she zapped him back._

"I've been searching for the other half of the Demon Tablet."

"Without us?"

"I've been trying to help, Dean. And in my search, I uncovered that Crowley has sent out demons to find Lucifer's crypts." Castiel was getting tired of the constant third degree from Dean, all he had been doing was helping them.

"Lucifer had Crypts?

"Dozens of them, apparently."

" Why the storage wars? I mean what the hell are they all looking for?" Sam asked, looking between the Angel and his Older brother.

" _It would be more useful if they knew everything" Castiel looked to Naomi again_

" _They cannot be trusted."_

" _But—"_

" _Lie, Castiel. Tell them what we discussed." She zapped him away once again._

"They are looking for a parchment that would allow them to deciphers Crowley's half of the demon tablet without a prophet."

"A demonic decoder ring? In Crowley's Hands? Awesome."

"The crypts were, uh, lost over time. Only those closest to Lucifer knew their whereabouts."

"Then how did Crowley find them?"

"His demons have been possessing locals who may have some special knowledge." He was lying right through his teeth.

"That would explain the crazy room at Ann's house. But how did they know where to start looking in the first place?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping the strange haired woman in the kitchen is more knowledgeable than the others I interrogated." Cas stood and headed for the kitchen.

* * *

Grace heard her phone ring and sighed. "So much for my day off…" she picked up her phone, "Heya Sammy. Whatcha need?"

"We're sending Cas your way, We need you at the Murray Hotel, demons have a hostage." She sighed. "Alright, let me get my—" the end tone rang over her cell as Cas popped into her room "Heya Cassie." He rose an eyebrow at the nickname, "Okay…not a fan of that one, Noted…I just need to get a few things together then we can go."

" _Kill her Castiel, Now." Castiel was hesitant "But we need her, she's crucial." Naomi rolled her eyes "Did all my efforts with you go to waste Castiel? I said, kill her."_

Cas let his angel blade slid out of his coat sleeve, but he still didn't feel right about this command.

" _Do it, Now!"_

" _I won't"_

Grace watched as Castiel seemed to be having an internal struggle.

"Cas?" he said nothing more as he zapped them to the Murray Hotel.

* * *

"The hostage is in there." Cas pointed to the bathroom as Grace tried to get her bearings.

"Aren't you a little short to be a storm trooper?" Meg…it had to be her. Sam looked sympathetic to his little sister as she finally gave in and puked on the floor.

"Okay…least favorite travel method….angel flight." Cas tilted his head in confusion, looking slightly offended. "No offense cas, but…maybe a little warning next time."

"I am sorry, Grace."

"So Um…I gotta ask, whats with the hair."

"Aw. thanks for noticing, Dean. But this wasn't my idea, it was Crowley's. Just another reason I wanna stab him in the face. Anyways, who's the new girl?" It had escaped both brothers that Their sister had never had a run in with Meg, she'd always been with Bobby or another hunter on a job any time they'd run into her.

"That's our sister, Grace. So, Wait a second. You've been telling Crowley the locations of lucifer's crypts?"

"What can I say? I needed a break from the constant torture. And I did visit them all during my time with Yellow Eyes. But don't worry, I haven't exactly been giving them the Glengarry leads."

"You mean you've been lying to them?" Grace finally managed to catch her breath, Sam and dean both looked at her apologetically.

"I just get them in the ball park. Enough times passed and enough's changed that they bought it. any of you guys wanna get her some water or something?" Meg looked at Grace, then at the boys, Sam stood after a minute and went to grab his sister something to drink.

"So, why lie?"

"By myself some time, dummy. Try to find a way to get free.

"So…a bunch of innocent people died—so you could buy yourself some time?" Meg turned to look at Grace. " She speaks. Hi. I'm Meg. I'm a demon."

"So what have they found?" Cas asked cutting the small talk down.

* * *

"There. that's where the crypt was. "

"What's there now?" Grace looked ready to smack Sam upside the head…if she could reach the back side of his head.

"Do I look like google to you? None of these buildings were here way back in the day. Figure it out genius." He walked away to try and find some booze.

"Hey Dean?" Dean looked over at his sister, "Yeah Shortstop?"

"Do me a favor." He raised an eyebrow.

"Can you smack Sammy upside the head?" he shrugged and turned, smacking his little brother upside the back of the head.

"Ow, dude!" Dean shrugged again and motioned to Grace, Sam turned and gave her a 'bitch' face, she just blew him a kiss before moving out of his reach.

"These wounds have festered." Cas was tending to Megs injuries, Grace had gone off in search of an first aid kit to try and help.

"You really do know how to make a girl's nether's quiver, don't you?"

"I _am_ aware of how to do that. Although it doesn't usually involve cleaning wounds." He said as Grace came back with some more medical supplies.

"He's not wrong." She admitted, turning slightly pink in the face.

"So, you got a thing for Pretty blonde's, Huh Clarence?"

"I don't know. And I still don't know who Clarence is."

"Would it kill you watch a movie, or read a book?" She looked past him at Grace who just shrugged and pulled out a wet wipe, handing it over to Meg, "Um…for your nose. You got a little…blood…" Meg took it from her and began to wipe off her face.

"A movie, no. But a book with the proper spells—yeah, it could, theoretically, kill me."

"You know, you're much cuter when you're shutting up." Grace felt something flare up inside of her, Meg was flirting with Castiel, and it really shouldn't have bothered her but for whatever reason it did and she didn't understand why.

"So, which Cas are you now? Ordinary make and model, or Crazy town?" Cas looked around fro a moment as he shook his head, unsure of how to answer her.

"I'm just me."

"So, your noodles back in order?"

"Yeah, my…noodle remembers everything. I think it's a pretty good noodle."

"Really? You remember everything?" Grace wasn't sure she liked where this as going, she turned to head back to the other room but stopped, lingering in the doorway.

"If you're referring to the pizza man…Yes, I remember the pizza man, and it's a good memory." Grace wished she hadn't heard that, whatever she had been feeling was now worse.

"You ever miss the apocalypse?"

"No, why would I miss the end of times?"

"I miss the simplicity. I was bad. you were good. Life was easier. Now it's all so Messy. I'm kind of good, which sucks, and you're kind of bad—which is actually all manner of hot. We survive this…I'm gonna order some Pizza and how about you, me and Blondie over there move some furniture around. You understand?" Castiel's eyes drifted from between meg and Grace for a few minutes before he smiled , "No…I-I…Wait—actually…Yes, I—"

"Alright, let's roll, campers." Grace's face was now a whole new shade of red, mainly because a demon had just suggested one hell of a three way between her and angel and a demon.

* * *

"So, this is it? Basement?"

"Alright, as and I will head in and get our Indiana jones on, Sam, Grace, you stay outside with Meg."

"What?"

"Dean…I don't think that—"

"we got this."

"What are you talking about, dean? We're not letting you go in there alone."

"He won't be alone." Cas cut into their conversation.

"That's not what I mean. Meg can hang here, watch out backs."

"Oh, what? Now you trust Meg?"

"Hey, she got us this far, Dean." Grace said, uncertain why she was defending a demon.

"Thank you!"

"Shut up Meg!" both brothers said at the same time.

"Dean—"

"Sam, I saw your bloody rag in the trash can, okay?" everyone stopped, Grace looked at Sam.

"Sammy?"

"That wasn't—"

"Stop. Just stop. Sam, We don't know what's in there, okay? And you almost let a demon get the best of you back there. " Sam scoffed at deans antics. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine. You haven't been fine since the first trial. That's why I called Cas."

"Trial?" Meg and Grace asked at the same time, neither of her brothers had told her anything about the trial.

"Shut up Meg."

"Shut up Grace." Grace gave her oldest brother a nasty look as she stepped back

"Dean, I'm telling you—I'm okay"

"No, you're not. Sam…you're damaged in ways even I can't heal. Dean's right. You should stay here and protect meg, and your sister."

"Since when do I need protecting?"

"Since you were held captive and tortured for over a year." Castiel finally snapped, looking down at the blonde demon standing next to him.

"Touché."

* * *

"Wait—so I took how many bullets for you guys, and you didn't even look for me? Like, once?" Grace was leaned up against one of the walls as they spray painted sigils and devils traps around the area.

"Well, I don't know about Sam and Dean, but in my defense, I didn't know you existed, I only just started hunting recently."

"Yeah blondie, I get that." Grace rolled her eyes, Sam said nothing as they went back to it, "My hero. And what's with all the "Trial" and "Being damaged" crap?"

"Look, no disrespect, but you haven't exactly been the must, uh, trustworthy person in our lives, Meg."

"You're not gonna tell me? Seriously? How am I not team Sam?" she scoffed, "Fine, whatever it is, you okay dying over it? You okay leaving your little sister and Big brother behind?" Sam flashed her another look as he continued painting warding sigils.

"You don't wanna say, fine. But remember, I spent time in that walking corpse of yours and I know your sad, little thoughts and feelings." Grace had had enough, she turned and walked away from the two, wanting to be alone for a bit.

"That's creepy." He noticed Grace was walking away, " Where are you going?"

"Relax warden, just going to clear my head, I won't stray to far."

"Your sister has spunk, I like that." Grace rolled her eyes as she rounded the corner.

* * *

"Well well, looks like one of the sheep left her heard." Grace turned only to come face to face with one of Crowley's demons.

"SAMMY!" she screamed as the demon clamped it's hand over her mouth, Sam and Meg came sprinting around the corner, Sam stabbing any other demons that got in his way.

"Grace!?" he saw that one of the demons had hold of her and stopped.

"I believe they're playing my song." Crowley appeared out of nowhere, Sam and Meg turned to face him as the demon lackey held a knife to Graces throat, "So, there are three pests now, wonderful, it's a shame that count is about to go down to two, just like it was before the little brat was born, right, Moose? The good old days."

Grace looked at her brother with wild and terrified eyes, he wouldn't let them kill her, would he? "Sammy?" he looked between Crowley and Grace.

"Love what you've done with the place. You really think all that was gonna keep my out forever?"

"At least long enough for Dean and Cas to get the tablet and get out."

"Castiel. So that's who's been poking my boys— And not in a sexy way." Crowley then turned to look at Grace again, "It seems the littlest angel holds some affection for the little one over there." Sam turned looking at grace again, "I'd be a shame if something happened to her, wouldn't it?"

"You wouldn't dare." Same pushed back, "Oh, wouldn't I?"

"No, because you know you'd have Dean and I on your ass the second you laid a finger on her."

"Well, let's see." The demon holding her captive slashed the knife across Grace's face, carving a permanent smile into have her face, she let out an ear splitting scream.

"Sam, Go! Save your brother and sister, and my Unicorn." Sam turned and looked at the demon who had carved up his little sister, now both sides of her face had the nasty smile carved in as well as a few other nasty cuts from the bottom of her eyes down to the corners of her mouth.

"I always loved the jokers look, I think your sister really pulls it off, Sam." Grace used the last bit of energy she had to shove the demon off of her, Sam took that chance to kill him "S-Sammy…G-go, I'l be fine. find Dean and Cas." Sam nodded and took off, leaving her behind with Meg, who Crowley killed not long after explaining what Sam and Dean had planned to do.

* * *

"Dean! Dean. Where's Cass?"

"He's gone. Meg, Grace?"

"We gotta go—now." Dean ran after Sam as he led the way back outside.

* * *

Grace had forced herself back to her feet as Crowley advanced on Meg, "D-Don't touch her…" Crowley looked at the blood covered Winchester, "And I suppose you're going to stop me?"

"I'm damn well gonna try, you son of a bitch."

"I could beat on you both for an eternity"

"What's stopping you? bastard." Meg looked back at her, a small bit of surprise was evident on her face, Grace Saw her brothers motioning her to the car, she looked at Meg.

"No Cas in the back seat. Your stone is long gone." Meg motioned for Grace to go as she stabbed Crowley with an angel blade, knowing what was coming next she sprinted as quick as she could towards the impala and climbed into the back seat as they sped off.

* * *

"I told you to watch her, Sam." Grace had Passed out in the back seat, dean had instructed her to put a towel down for the blood as they drove towards the bunker.

"I was watching her, she stepped away for just a second, how was I supposed to know there would be demons?"

"Dammit Sam, with us there is always demons, or something."

"I'm sorry, Dean."

"That's it, she's not coming on any more jobs, she's too easy of a target for these assholes. Angels and demons know they can use her to get to us. We're leaving her at the bunker, no more hunts." He looked at Grace as she left in the back seat, the stitches looked horrible, marring her face, the doctors had given her some medication to help her sleep and Dean was grateful they had.


	8. Sacrifice

"Call it off Crowley, it's over. We wanna deal." Grace listened in on the conversation from her spot at one of the tables. Sam and dean had held true to their word, I hadn't been on a hunt since Meg was killed.

"We stop the trials, you stop the killing."

"I want the demon tablet—the whole demon tablet."

"Fine, but then the angel tablet comes to us."

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that he's a douchebag. Or Maybe that he carved up my face like a fucking thanksgiving turkey…oh or that he smells." Grace muttered, dean looked at his sister and tried not to laugh.

"On the grounds that you're douchebag, and no douchebag should have that much power. Deal or not?"

"First, I need to hear two little words."

"Fuck you?" Grace shouted from the background, Crowley obviously did not find it the least bit funny.

"No! I surrender. And tell that little tart of a sister of yours that I'd happily take her up on the invitation." Grace gagged at his comment.

"In his dreams."

* * *

"You hid the demon tablet under the devil? Seriously?" since this wasn't a hunt they had agreed to bring me along, let me get some fresh air.

"What? I was delirious." Kevin put the two pieces back together and then looked at the three of us, I watched as the writing flashed gold as it melded back together. "You sure this is gonna work?"

"What choice do we have?"

"Alright, listen, this is a secret lair. You understand me? You're gonna take grace back with you, no Keggers." He slid the key for the bunker out of its box. Kevin looked at the blonde Winchester sibling.

"I don't have any friends." Grace gave dean a 'bitch' face but he ignored her.

"Dean, you've had me on lock down for over a month. The stitches are gone and the scars are fading. I can help with this."

"And you will help, from the bunker. We'll call you if we need anything." Sam and Dean turned and headed back to the Impala "Hey guys? You're doing the right thing."

* * *

"So…you're the prophet?" Grace said looking Kevin up and down as they sat down inside the Men of Letters bunker. He looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, it's been…a lot of…fun? Why do you keep staring at me like that?"

"No reason, just trying to figure you out. I thought a prophet of god would be older. You know, Grey hair, long beard, kind of nutty."

"Um…Thanks?" he said giving her a sideways glance "So what's your deal?" Grace looked at him questioningly. "My deal?" he nodded in response.

"Sam and Dean, they don't talk about you much, I didn't even know you existed." Grace made a mental note to slap them both when they got back.

"I'm kind of a background character, if you will. Sam and Dean, they don't let me go out n hunts much, as you can see what happens when I do…" She indicated to the nasty scars on her face, Kevin grimaced.

"Castiel didn't fix you? I thought he was full team Winchester." Grace rolled her eyes, "Castiel, He's too busy fraternizing with demons, I don't even know where he is." Kevin seemed to take that is the initiative to stop asking personal questions.

"Anyways, you're able to read Enochian?"

"Well, not exactly read it, per se, but I can translate it with some help." She seemed fascinated with the idea.

"I tried to learn introductory Mandarin once." He seemed intrigued. "So you like foreign languages then?" she nodded, "Yes, I used to want to travel before…" she stopped.

"Sam and Dean pulled you in?"

"Yeah…my whole life plan was tossed into the wind about 7 years ago. I was still in Highschool."

"I was just about to finish Highschool when This happened to me, so I can sympathize, Grace."

"It sucks, doesn't it? Knowing your life will never be peaceful again?" a sudden pop alerted them that someone else was here.

"Hello?"

"We have the tablets." She sighed in relief, it was just Dean, but that sudden whoosh she had heard also meant that Castiel was with him. _'great…'_

* * *

"Is this a joke?"

"No, it's the word of god." Grace rolled her eyes, why did he have to take everything to literal.

"What?"

"It's a tablet. All right, translate, it's what you do." Kevin scoffed at dean, "Okay. Um, it's the angel tablet, which I've never laid eyes on in my life. You want a translation in like six hours? When it took me six months and a dead mom to translate a piece of the demon tablet?" He poured himself a class of whiskey, "An according to you own words this morning…this is not what I do. It's what I did. You told me I was out, Dean."

"Yeah, well—"

"And if this is gonna be the "Guys like us are never out" speech, save it." Grace looked at Castiel in shock as he lifted Kevin by the front of his shirt to stare him down. "Castiel! Let him go!" she went ignored by the angel.

"Dean's right."

"Cas!"

"There is no out. Only duty." Grace grabbed one of the nearby lamps and headed towards Castiel. "Get the hell off me." Castiel kept up the intimidation act, "You are a prophet of the lord, always and forever…until the day you cease to exist, and then another prophet takes your place. Now, are you clea as to the task before you?"

"Get the hell off him!" she swung, catching him in the back of the head, he turned, letting Kevin go as he looked at grace her for the first time since the incident with Meg. Kevin looked stunned that this girl he barely knew had outright attacked a being that could kill her.

"Grace." His tone was cold, but as he looked at the scars on her face his expression softened a bit.

"This is your fault, Castiel. You were so hell bent on getting that god damn angel tablet…" Dean watched his sister, surprised she was actually chewing the angel out.

"I have an obligation to—"

"Shut up! Did I look like I was done talking?" Castiel looked down at her in surprise, "You can take your heavenly Obligations and shove them right up your ass, Castiel. This—" she traced the scars on her face, These are all because you chose your "Duty" over your friends. You let Meg die when all she was trying to do was Help." He reached out a hand to touch her face, but she stepped away.

"Don't…Just go, Castiel." She caught a small flicker of pain in his eyes. "GO! Get out of here!" Castiel backed away from her and put his hand on deans shoulder, the next instance they were gone.

"Grace?" Kevin looked at her with concern, she had just stood up to an angel for him. "I'm Fine, Kevin. But Castiel…there's no telling what he'll do if you don't do as he asks. Thankfully, two heads are better than one, right?" he looked confused.

"Oh geez, I'm saying I'll help in whatever way I can you god chosen nerd." He nodded in understanding, taking a seat and pulling out some old looking sheets of paper, "You're going to need a notebook. Translating can be difficult." She shrugged. "Wǒ xuéle zhōngwén, yǐ nuò néng yǒu duō nàn?" Kevin laughed, "Alright, point taken. Well, strap in rookie, it's going to be a long six hours." She laughed at his attempt of a joke.

"Shut up, Kevin."

* * *

Kevin's cell went off and he was now o the phone with Dean as Grace continued working on the tablet.

"I think I've found the angel trials, but I don't see anything about a Nephilim, or a cupids bow or anything like that."

"Oh, come on, Kev! We're on the one-yard line here."

"Okay, a-and I should have mentioned this six months ago, But the sports metaphors—you want to motivate me, "Magic" cards or "Skyrim," Aziz Ansari."

"What? I don't know what those words are…" Grace mentally smacked herself, her brother was a total moron Jock, even Sam would be better understanding than this. Grace heard something in the background.

"I'm Not here to fight you Castiel, Not anymore."

"Dean? Dean?" Grace motioned for him to be quiet so she could listen to the conversation.

"Where is Metatron?" Who was Castiel talking to?

"He told you he was going to fix heaven, didn't he? Murdering a Nephilim, cutting off a cupids bow—It's a lie, all of it. I've been in his head."

"You've been in all our heads. That's the problem."

"No, Castiel, you're wrong."

"This is what you do. You twist things. I'm trying to fix heaven. Metatron is trying to fix heaven." Grace found something on the tablet as Castiel kept talking to whoever this woman was.

"No…Kevin, that's wrong, whoever this woman is, she's right, this Metatron character isn't trying to save heaven…" Kevin looked over at what Grace had written down, he was surprised she had picked it up so quickly.

"Metatron isn't trying to fix anything. He's trying to break it—it's an act of revenge for driving him away.

"Break it how?"

"Dean."

"He's going to expel all angels from heaven, just as god cast out Lucifer.

"Kevin, This scribe…this…Metatron, he's trying to make the angels fall…" As the conversation carried on dean finally put the phone back to his ear

"Hey, is she lying?" Kevin looked at Grace unsure if he should tell him. "I-I don't know, Grace seems to think that—"

"Grace? Put her on the phone" Kevin handed the phone over.

"She's lying." Grace and Kevin heard Castiel over the phone.

"Take me to him." He hung up the phone

* * *

Kevin was packing his things.

"You're leaving, already?"

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't sign up for this, any of this." That's when the power to the bunker shut down.

"What's going on?"

"I have no idea!" she shouted over the loud blaring of the alarm, the map on the table lit of like a christmas tree and the two shared a look.

"That can't be good…" neither of the knew that the angels had begun falling.

* * *

So Another two chapters down and out, we'll be moving into season 9 now, and I am excited because I have a lot of things planned between Castiel and Grace, some Happy, some sad, some funny.

Translation of the Mandarin in this chapter.:

Wǒ xuéle zhōngwén, yǐ nuò néng yǒu duō nàn? = I learned chinese, how hard can Enochian be?


	9. I think I'm gonna like it here

*Heart monitor beeping*

Grace and Dean sat quietly as the beeping filled the room, "Dean, you couldn't have known this was going to happen." He just looked at her and said nothing, rubbing his face with his hands before standing as the doctor walked in, charts in hand.

"The MRI shows massive internal burns affecting many of the major internal organs. Oxygen to the brain has been severely deprived. The coma is the result of the body doing everything in its limited power to protect itself from further harm."

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

"If your brother continues on this trajectory, the machines might keep him alive, but—"

"He'll be dead…" Grace finished for him, Dean looked at her for only a split second before turning back to the doctor.

"Technically, yes. I'm afraid so.

"So there's—there's no recovery? I mean, there's no bounce back. there's no nothing."

"I'm afraid that's in god's hands now." Dean looked like he was about to sock the poor man, "You're a doctor. You're a medical professional. You're trying to tell me that my brother's life is in god's hands? What, is that supposed to be a-a comfort?"

"Mister Dougherty." The doctor tried to calm him down but dean only got more upset, Grace put a hand on his arm."

"Dean…" he shrugged her off "No, god has nothing to do with this equation at all."

"I didn't mean—"

"That's not good enough." Dean pushed past the doctor and left the room, grace had no idea where he was going, but she hopes he wasn't going to do something stupid.

* * *

Grace sat back down by her brothers bedside and closed her eyes. "Hey Sammy…we're gonna get through this, just like we always do. Then things will go back to normal, won't they?" her voice cracked as she spoke.

"Everything is going to be okay, it has to be…" she had no idea that dean was praying to whoever could hear him, she did look up however when dean came back.

"Hey, you been crying?" Dean said noting the tear stains on his little sisters face, she wiped her face the best she could "No, I, um…Yes..."

"Hey, none of that. We gotta be strong. He'll pull through, he always does."

"I know Dean, but what if…what if this time he doesn't?" Grace pushed, Dean was frustrated with the fact that she just seemed to give up.

"He will, I'm going to make sure of it." just then some woman walked into the room.

"Hi. I'm just gonna break the ice. Are you an Angel?"

' _Smooth dean…real inconspicuous'_ the woman laughed "Sometimes I wish I were. My name is Kim Schortz, and I'm a grief counselor, here at the hospital."

"Right. Uh, Uh…I'm sorry. I'm just tired. Well, all due respect, but, uh, we're not grieving—not yet at least, so—"

"I'm afraid, as hard as this may be, this might be a good time to talk…about the inevitable." Grace frowned at this woman.

"Look, Miss Schortz, was it? Our brother isn't dead. I'm sure you're a nice person and that you mean well, but "Inevitable" that's a fightin' word where we come from. There's always a way." Kim seemed to struggle with keeping her thoughts to herself.

"And I'm a prayerful woman who believes in miracles as much as the next, but I also know how to read an E.E.G. and unless you're telling me you have a direct line to those angels you were looking for—"

"Yeah, no, I, Uh…guess I don't. but I might have something better." Dean chuckled, Grace had no idea what was going on, maybe he'd finally lost it.

"I got the king of hell in my trunk."

"Uh, is—is that…I'm sorry. Is that a metaphor?" Grace looked at both Dean as he left and Kim who watched him go. "Yes, it's just a metaphor." Kim nodded, grace made a mental note to smack her brother for keeping secrets.

* * *

Once Kim had left, grace hurried down towards the car garage, wondering what Deans plan was, however upon her arrival she saw someone attacking him, she drew her gun.

"Let him go!" the man turned, "Ah, the youngest Winchester, maybe I can get some answer out of you." He advanced on her, she took the safety off and cocked it, ready to fire. "Where is Castiel?"

"I don't know where he is, and if I did I wouldn't tell you."

"Listen to me you little ape, we were all ejected from our home thanks to that traitor." Grace held her gun steady as he got closer. "That's far enough, if you're a fallen then that means your mortal, just like me, and a bullet wound is really gonna hurt."

"Why you impudent little whore." He lunged at her was caught by another man.

"Easy there, brother. These young people have prayed for our assistance. Are we creatures of wrath or compassion? I would argue the latter."

"Forgive me, brother. I don't recognize you."

"Happy to make your re-acquaintance. After you disarm" the suited angel stood down long enough to throw the other one off, Grace just stood in confusion, wondering if maybe she should shoot them both. That's when the guy in the suit punched the other guy.

"Come, now. Is that anyway to treat a brother injured in the fall?" then the two went at it, Grace groaned inwardly and went to pick up the angel blade that had dropped to the ground and stabbed the man in the suit from behind, the usual bright light filled the space until the angel was dead, his vessels body lying on the ground.

"That's enough of that. " she tucked the Angel blade into her coat and looked between Dean and the other Angel. "So, you got a name?" the angel looked at her, then at dean, ignoring the question.

"Never mind me, you two are Dean and Grace Winchester. I heard your prayer, and I am here to help." Grace watched unimpressed as his body fell to the floor.

"Yeah, no, that's—that's great."

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Grace said as she poured the ring of holy oil around the fallen angel and lit it, trapping him, just as he woke up.

"You want to help? Start with a name." Dean pushed.

"Ezekiel" finally, he was giving them something. "Alright, Ezekiel. How do I know you're not hunting us or Castiel like the other angels?"

"Oh, I am sure there are many angels who are. Many more on their way here, most likely."

"How do you know that?" Grace's eyes reflected the fire, making her look slightly more intimidating, she wanted answers, and he was going to give the if he wanted out of the holy fire.

"You put out an open prayer like your brother did…"

"Yeah, well, we're kind of desperate."

"Believe it or not, some of us still do believe in our mission. And that means we believe in Castiel…and you."

"You said you were hurt during the fall."

"I was. Entangling with my brother back there did me no favors. But what strength I have left, I offer to you."

* * *

We led Ezekiel into Sam's room, Grace was still uncertain if she could trust him, something felt off, but right now he was the best bet that they had at getting their brother back.

"You still able to cure things after the fall?"

"Yes, I should be, but…He's so weak." There it was, she knew he was up to something. That's when deans phone went off.

"Dean." Grace could hear Castiel on the other end, she motioned for Dean to take the call. "Go, I'll stay." She smiled, Dean nodded and left the room. Not long after though the hospital began to shake. Dean came in a few seconds after the shaking began.

"One of yours?"

"Trying to secure a vessel. We need to move."

"No, No. We move him, he dies."

"If we stay, we could all die." As Dean finished drawing all the sigils he threw the marker aside, "As long as these are up, no angels are coming in. No one's coming out. You gonna be okay with these?"

"I'll manage" Ezekiel glanced around, he looked sort of nervous.

"What?"

"They're here." Grace had covered her ears as dean headed for the door once again, the ringing was giving her a headache. "Okay. don't open this door for anybody but me. Save him, you hear me?"

* * *

There was a sudden crack as an ax found itself way through our door, and she heard Dean's voice. "Okay, wait, wait, wait. I'll tell you where Cas is. I just have one question."

"Ask."

"If heaven is locked, then where do you go when I do this?" Grace saw the familiar bright light again but Ezekiel shielded her eyes, just as dean re-entered the room.

"Wat the hell is happening?" Sam's Heart monitor was going crazy, "This just started. And the warding. I'm afraid I'm weaker than I thought. I am sorry Dean." Dean had begun crossing out the angel warding's, in an attempt to help now.

"No. No, no, No. No, we had a deal, okay? I fight, you save."

"And would that I could. I'm just afraid that it's too late." Grace frowned, standing now,

"Are you kidding me? No, see that doesn't work for us, I know you're new to this whole "Saving people" thing since you've been sitting in the clouds since the dawn of friggin' time and all, but you made a promise to Dean that you'd save Sam, and I will be damned if I let you back down."

"There is only one way I can save him now."

"So do it. We're out of options here, man. Good or bad let us ear 'em."

"I cannot promise, but there is a chance I can fix your brother. From the inside." Grace stared at Ezekiel incredulously,

"In-Inside, like you want to possess him." That obviously wasn't what had crossed deans mind, he seemed to think Ezekiel was talking about cutting Sam open.

"Wait, possession? You wanna possess sam?"

"I told you."

"No way."

"Understood. It's your call."

"No, It's Sam's call. There's no way in hell he'd say yes to being possessed by anything."

"He would rather die." Ezekiel stood and stopped the incessant being of the machines. " I will leave you three alone then." As Ezekiel headed for the door Dean stopped him.

"Dean, we need him. He's our last shot." Dean looked at his sister, he hated when she was right.

"Wait. If I consider this—and I mean just consider it—I need something man. You gotta prove to me how bad he is." Ezekiel stepped back over to Sam putting a hand on his head and then on Dean's, "Close your eyes." Once Dean opened his eyes again he looked to Sam.

"The hell are you doing, Sam?"

"As you can see, there's not much time.' Grace looked between the two, "Dean, what's he talking about?" they both looked at Grace, "Sam is—he's making a deal with death. He's trying to stay dead."

"Stay dead? But he's not…not yet. We can still…" Dean shook his head, "How will it work?"

"Mutual benefit, I suppose. I heal Sam while healing myself"

"And when he's healed?"

"I leave." Grace didn't like this, something felt off.

"It's the best of a bad situation, Dean, Grace."

"Even if one of us said yes, it doesn't mean squat. Sam will never say yes—not to you."

"But he would say yes to you two."

* * *

"It's time, Sam, Shall we?"

"Hold on."

"Grace." She smiled at him. "It's okay, Sammy."

"Dean would have sent me with cronuts, but time is short, so…" She said looking at who she assumed was Death.

"By all means." Sam looked back at Grace, "What's going on?"

"We found a plan, Sam."

"It's too late. I'm going, Grace." She stepped towards him, "No. No, No, No. Listen to me."

"And why are you even here? Dean sending you to do his dirty work now? I'm not fighting this anymore." she looked back at him, hurt evident on her face.

"You have to fight, Sam! I can fix this, okay? But not if you shut me out." She looked back at death,

"Please, it's not his time yet."

"That's for Sam to decide." Death looked between the two siblings now, Sam seemed uncertain of what to do.

"Sammy, Listen to me. Dean said he made you a promise in that church. You and him, come whatever. I know I haven't been part of your lives for very long, but we're a family, we're all we got, and hell if this ain't whatever…but you gotta let us in, Sammy. You have to let us help. There ain't no us, if there ain't no you." Sam looked torn now but finally he responded, he knew he couldn't let her down again, he couldn't let them both down, again.

"What do I do?"

"Is that a yes?" he continued to look between Grace and death before giving his answer.

"Yes." Grace pulled him into a hug, "Come on." And just like that Grace turned into Ezekiel.

* * *

So. Chapter 9 guys, I know, I know, kind of boring since Cas wasn't involved much, but I promise he'll be in a lot more of the upcoming chapters 😊


	10. Devil May Care

"So what, Cas is human?" Sam sat down on the table Dean was laying on, Grace watched the two of them.

"Ish. I mean, he's got no grace, no wings, no…harp, whatever the hell else he had."

"Okay? And where'd he crash land?"

"Called me from a pay phone, from Longmont, Colorado. I told him to just make for the bunker."

"Well, you think he can handle that?"

"It's Cas, he's survived much worse, remember the leviathans?" Sam and Dean looked at Grace, "What? Oh come on guys, those things ripped him apart and he still came back from it. He's a big boy, guys, he can handle this, have some faith."

"Things go breaking bad, he knows our number. Right now I got bigger worries."

"Dean's right, we got thousands of fallen angels out there. And I can bet some of 'em want us dead."

"Thanks to Metatron, Like Grace said, we got a couple of thousand confused, loose nukes walking around down here."

"What do you think they're gonna do?"

"No clue, but whatever it is, we're going to need some strong allies." Sam and Dean both looked to her, with bitch faces for interrupting.

"Grace, I appreciate our input, but you're still on house arrest, no hunts, that includes this." She rolled her eyes "You're not dad, Dean. So stop acting like him."

"Someone has to watch you, you can't be trusted on your own, Grace. You get into too much trouble alone."

"Because I'm a girl, or because I'm the annoying little sister who gets in the way all the time? You know what your problem is Dean? You can't trust people and it pisses me off."

"Grace, that's not fair, I—"

"No, what's not fair is that you will trust Sam, after all the fucking shit you've been through, but you won't trust me."

"Gracie."

"No, you know what, Sam, Shove it. because I know you're going to side with him, try and sell me some crap about how it's for my own good, but I don't care anymore." She turned and began walking out of the park.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"None of your fucking business, Dean. Go back to hell." He watched her leave holding Sam back from going after her, "Let's give her some space. We're not far from the bunker."

* * *

"—ook, if we can get to Crowley to give us the name of every demon that's gone top side…" the two heard the bunker door open and close, then footsteps.

"We can hunt them all down, therefor making it easier to close the gates of hell." Grace stepped into the room, Sam and Dean shared a relieved look but Kevin grabbed the super soaker full of holy water and prepared to shoot her with it.

"You get me wet, Kevin, and I swear to god, I will give you the worst swirly you have ever experienced." He hesitated for a second, but dropped the water gun back to the table.

"Grace, where have you been?" She ignored Sam's inquiry and headed for her room.

"Grace?" Dean called after her but she just flicked him off and kept walking. "Yikes, whatever you two did to her…I'd sleep with one eye open tonight." Sam and Dean shared a look as they watched their sister head for her room.

* * *

Grace heard one of the phones ring, but ignored it. "You gonna answer that?" "She shrugged and went back to what she was doing, Kevin sighed and picked up the cell phone.

"Hello?"

" _This is Dean's number, but you're not a Winchester. Who are you?"_ Grace listened in on the call, How had Abbadon gotten one of their numbers?

"I'm Nobody."

" _Well, nobody…I need you two give those three a message for me. I have something thy might want."_

The line went dead after that. "Kevin, give me the coordinates." Grace said grabbing her coat."

"But Sam and Dean said you're supposed to stay here." Grace rolled her eyes at the prophet, "Yeah, well take a look around, Sam and Dean aren't here, so screw them, I can handle this. Now give me the coordinates, Kevin."

"44.053051 by -123.127860. the hunters she has are Irv Franklin and Tracy Bell." She nodded, already halfway up the stairs.

"Lock this door, I'll be back, Kev. And If you spray me with anything when I get back the swirly threat stands."

"Noted, no water gun." With that she was gone. As soon as the door closed though Kevin called Sam and Dean.

* * *

Grace wound up in a town in Oregon, the place was deserted thanks to a chemical plant explosion.

"Well Well, I never expected the little sister to show up, this is a surprise." She turned to come face to face with the red haired knight of Hell, "It's such an honor to meet you, little Gracie."

"Yeah, a real treat. Where are the hunters, Abbadon?"

"Right to the chase, I love that about you Winchester's. you don't beat around the bush." Abbadon walked towards her.

"You certainly are a pretty one, too bad you weren't around when I came back, I'd have worn you instead, we could have had such fun." Grace spit at Abbadon, who looked repulsed.

"Being around those boys has made you quite uncivilized, I was really hoping we got have some girl bonding time. Actually, Maybe we still can." Grace didn't have enough time to react before one of the other demons knocked her out cold.

* * *

"Grace woke up, tied to the other two hunters. "Are you fucking serious? How does this keep happening to me?"

"Because you're naïve, sweetie." Abbadon made herself known again, just as the door was kicked open, revealing her brothers, she quickly disappeared again.

"Dean." Sam spotted Irv and Tracy before his eyes landed on Grace.

"Sam, Dean?"

"God dammit, Grace. I told you to stay in the bunker" she rolled her eyes

"And I told you, you're not dad." He frowned as she untied the three of them.

* * *

"Alright, we got Jesus juice, A sister who won't follow orders, Gun's loaded with devils trap bullets. Shoot a demon, put him on lockdown."

"Real Mature, Dean." Grace muttered sarcastically.

"Angel blade works." He tossed in the air a bit and let it clatter back onto the table as Sam stood.

"They're coming. They've got assault rifles."

"Good, I owe 'em a nice shiner for kidnapping me, black eyed son's of bitches." Dean gave her a look.

"Oh no, no, no, you're giving me this one Dean-o, I got hit on by a knight of hell, and then clubbed by one of those camo wearing douche bags, I'm in this to win." Sam and dean shared a look, "Abbadon hit on you? That's kind of—"

"If you say hot, I'm putting on of those bullets in your ass, Dean." He rose his hands up in surrender and backed away, she grabbed the shot gun with the demon trap bullets.

"So, what's the play?" Dean thought quickly and used his phone to make a recording of him screaming _'Come and get it, you dicks!'_ over and over.

* * *

"Alright, we got to flank seal team douche in there, so, uh, Irv and me will go left. Sam, Tracy and Grace, you go right." Once they had their orders the 5 split up and headed their assigned direction, or they would have had Tracy not had a problem with Sam. Once things were resolved Irv, Sam, and Grace split from Dean and Tracy.

* * *

The three walked around the premises "Sam, you copacetic?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now hand me that toothpick. And you, Dean, Tracy and Grace—you beat feet out of here." Grace looked at Irv like he was Crazy.

"What? No way, you go in there alone you're a dead man."

"I'll buy you as much time as I can."

"Irv, that's death."

"Yeah, well, it's what I got coming. It's my fault, Sam. I was in some dive and I was sloppy and lonely and I met some girl, and the next thing you know, I'm strapped to some bed and she's twisting things that ain't supposed to be twisted."

"She who?" Sam was curious, meanwhile Grace had taken a few steps back, minorly grossed out from the sudden admittance of the older hunter.

"Abbadon. I gave 'em up. Pete, Tracy—I gave 'em all up. So you hand me that blade and you let me do what I gotta do, or so help me—" there was a sudden gunshot, Sam looked at Grace but she shook her head, "It wasn't me, I swear!" the guns kept firing, Grace ducked for cover, "Sam, the roof!" he followed where she was pointing and took a shot, She took off after him but stopped when he ran into one of the empty buildings, finding a quick hiding spot and aimed her rifle and prepared to shoot the two demons.

' _Dammit…hold still.'_ Grace watched as the demons fought with Sam, she was frustrated she couldn't get a clear shot.

* * *

"I so appreciate you three coming when I call. I think that's what I like most about you Winchesters, you're so obedient and suicidally stupid, just like that little sister of yours, I like it, I like her, too. Oh, the things I'd do to her." Abbadon smirked, licking her lips in a seductive manner.

"Keep your hands off her."

"Are we gonna fight, or are you gonna fantasize about, Grace? Cause honey, she don't play for your team."

"I want Crowley—or what's left of him." She pulled Deans hair a bit harder.

"Yeah, what's in it for me?" her smile grew "I let you die. You give me Crowley's head, and I will snap your neck nice and clean. You won't feel a thing, trust me."

"And if I tell you to get bent?"

"Oh, well… I could wear your sister around as my new little meat suit. She's the perfect vessel, Dean, could be fun using her body to get around, if you know what I mean. I bet little Gracie has never even been with a man. I'll make sure she has a grand old time."

* * *

There was a sudden burst of light and Grace shielded her eyes, having given up on getting her shots in after some time.

"Ezekiel?" Grace heard a loud crash and crawled out of hiding to investigate, seeing it was Dean she rushed over, "Dean?" the two shared a look for a moment before running into the abandoned Diner.

"Sam?" Dean looked at his brother as he pulled the demon knife from the head of one of the now dead soldiers.

"They were going to kill him."

"What the hell did you do?"

"I was protecting your brother. I thought that was what you wanted." Ezekiel replied, Grace wanted to both slap and hug this angel right now, but she refrained.

"Yeah, right, yeah, no, I-I—sorry . I'm just still getting used to this whole thing."

"As am I."

"But Sam's okay?"

"He was knocked unconscious. In a way, he still is. Sam will not remember any of this."

* * *

"Finally, Home!" Grace hurried down the stairs, Sam just chuckled at her childish antics, you'd never think they'd just fought of a knight of hell.

"Kevin?"

"Kevin?!"

"Grace, you look around up here, alright?" she nodded as the two brothers headed down to the torture room."

* * *

"Kevin where are you going?" Grace had found him, packing his bags.

"You can't keep me locked in here. I'm leaving" Grace pushed the door to his room open further, leaning on the door frame.

"Kevin, what we're doing…it's to keep you safe, every demon out there is gunning for you."

"He told me my mom is alive." The one kind of hit grace a bit hard, she stepped into his room, "Look Kevin, she might be and she might not be, but demons, they'll do anything to get what they want, lies included. We'll find your mom, but we can't do that if you're dead."

"Grace—"

"Kevin, you're not alone in this, we've all been there, Sam and dean, they lost their mom when Sam was still just a baby, I lost my mom 7 years we lost our dad not long after to a demon …" He looked sympathetic,

"You're Family Kevin. After all the Crap we've been through, after all the good you've done…If you don't think we'd die for you…I don't know what to tell you. You, Sam, Dean, Cas and I—we're all we have." Kevin looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"I know that it sucks, and you want to believe that your mom is alive and out there somewhere, but…You can't tell me none of this matters to you, Kevin." She reached over and wiped the tear off his cheek, but was surprised when he tilted his head into her hand, like a little kid would to a mothers touch. What happened next caught her off guard, in a split second Kevin had pulled her close and kissed her. When he pulled away he gave her a fond smile.

"You know, Grace, whoever doesn't love someone like you is a real moron."

* * *

So, cute little thing between Grace and Kevin in the end of this chapter, poor kid deals with so much shit in the show and then he dies a horrible death *Cough* Gadreel *Cough* Metadouche *cough* But yay! Cas comes back in the next chapter. I do really hope you guys enjoyed this one, I ENJOYED WRITING IT! :D


	11. I'm no Angel

"Sam, Grace! You here?" the door opened and Sam came in with breakfast, distracting dean long enough for Grace to launch a sneak attack.

"You been outside al—oof!" Grace cheered as she sat on his back, Deans coffee now spilled all over the floor as Sam laughed.

"Oh man, she got you, dean."

"My coffee! Get off, Grace." She beamed at him and climbed off going to find paper towels.

"Went for a run. Beautiful sunrise. Anyways, cleaned up. Went and got breakfast. Grabbed you real Bacon and eggs, extra grease. Not even gonna argue. And Grace, I grabbed you Bacon and a few of the egg white sandwich things you like, with a raspberry chocolate chip, gluten free, muffin." She grinned at him.

"Thanks Sammy." He smiled and took a seat, dean following the example.

"Wait. You went running?"

"What? Why do you look so worried?"

"Well considering the angels just fell…" Grace started and Dean motioned to her.

"There's also Cas, who I told to haul ass here. that was days ago. He's still out there. Um, There's you."

"Me? I feel great." Sam scoffed at Dean, Grace swallowed her bite of food and looked at him.

"We're just worried about you, Sam. We're sure you feel fine but all things considered, you went through those trials to try and shut the gates of hell, that put a lot of strain on your body, we just think it'd be better if you, you know, relaxed a little." Ezekiel popped himself into the conversation, and Grace almost choked on her food.

"He does feel better. A work in progress, of course, but I am slowly healing him."

"That's great, um, but—"

"I have news, I've picked up chatter among the angels. Not all are wandering around in confusion."

"Yeah, some of 'em are after Cas."

"There is a faction that is rapidly organizing and finding human vessels to contain them."

"Led by Naomi?" Grace frowned at the name Naomi, "I ever see that woman again, I'm Jamming an angel blade right up her ass." Dean flashed her a look and she shut up, going back to her breakfast.

"I have not heard that name, no. but it is this factions leadership who want Castiel found. You see, Dean, I can be useful.

"So can my brother. So, why don't you go check your e-mail, and if I need your help, I'll let you know."

"Dean."

"He said he'll let you know." Grace interjected once again, he flashed Grace a look before receding back into Sam.

"I mean, you know, Cas is human now. It's gonna take him a lot longer to travel."

"I'm gonna get whiplash."

"What?"

"Nothing. Um, all right, so, I was thinking. So, what if the angels are organizing, then that makes them a lot more dangerous than we though."

"Why do you think they are organizing?"

"If only you knew, Sammy" Dean flashed her a 'shut up' look and she once again went back to her food.

"It makes sense. My point is, is that the more of them that are after Cas, the worse it is, so…we gotta find him.

* * *

"Alright, so this is where Cas called from last week. Longmont, Colorado. Each circle is how far he might have gotten in one, two, and three days out.

"Okay, Here we go. The same day he called from Longmont, weird murder, same town. Cops said it was like the girl was blasted from the inside out."

"Angel kill. They might have just missed Cas. Unless they got him." A sudden crashing sound was heard from behind the brothers, the second broken cup today, Dean turned to look at his sister.

"Grace?" Sam looked sympathetic now, "He's smarter than that, I know he is. How can you just give up on your friend so easily?"

"Grace, we have to weigh the options here. I don't like it any more than you do but it's possible that—"

"Emory Park, Iowa." Dean turned back to Sam, "You got an Emory Park, Iowa?"

"Emory Park, Emory Park. I just saw that. Uh, yeah, a couple days outside of Longmont."

"Okay, because two priests were murdered there on Thursday. Eyes blown out, evidence of torture. They were impaled on posts."

"Torture?"

"Yeah."

"Angels are looking for info. Man, if they get to him before we do…"

"Get in the car." The boys asked no questions as they grabbed their jackets.

* * *

"All right. Well, he's definitely been here. Good news is he's finally getting cagey. He's using a fake name—Clarence." Grace frowned, that was what Meg had called him, referencing the angel from _'it's a wonderful life'_ she felt something in the pit of her stomach but tried to ignore it.

"That's what meg used to call him. Of course, he doesn't get that's the name of a pretty famous angel." Grace smacked her brother upside the head.

"Watch a damn Christmas movie sometime…Clarence is the Angel from It's a wonderful life." he gave her a 'bitch' face and she leaned back again, dean shook his head.

"Dude, seriously?"

"What'd you come up with?"

"Another angel kill, outside a town called Lafayette, about a days travel East of here." Dean looked at Sam's computer, Grace rolled her eyes.

"It's in Indiana, Genius." Dean turned to face her again, "I will smack you, so help me." She gave him a challenging look, "Bring it on, old man." The two started a slap fight before Sam broke it up.

"There was a body found in a homeless camp. Insides barbecued, the whole nine."

"Homeless guy?"

"No, a pharmacist from Dayton, Ohio."

"What?"

"Huh."

* * *

"Damndest thing I ever saw. Vic had a stab wound, but that's not what killed him. It's like his insides were—"

"Vaporized?" Grace suggested, it was a common thing found in Ex host bodies, but she had to suppose that when you're toting around an ancient cosmic force, there would be some side effects. The other agent looked back at her in surprise.

"Pretty smart for someone so young, How old are you?" she rolled her eyes, "Old enough to know you shouldn't be hitting on me, I'd guess you're…37? Married, Happily, and you've got 2 kids?" the agent looked surprised,

"how did you—"

" Agent Grace Holland, I was top of my class at Harvard, graduated early." He looked impressed as Sam clapped her on the back, she grinned at him once the other agents back was turned again.

"So, this guys was a pharmacist from Ohio?"

"Apparently. Total family man, religious. One day, just hops into the S.U.V, takes off, dies on a bridge here from god knows what. this is his stuff. Help yourselves."

"Thanks."

"Thanks" with that the other agent was gone.

* * *

"Look, for the billionth time, we're not cops. We're just looking for some information. We're trying to find a friend of ours. He's in trouble. Look, he might have been here the night that guy was killed."

"Were any of you here that night?" Dean had stayed back in the car after Grace had seen how frightened these people were of him, plus he had this tendency to get pushy.

"Maybe."

"He's got dark hair, kind of messy, blue eyes, always seems just a little out of it…" the guy didn't seem to understand.

"His name is Clarence." Grace added in, the homeless man showed a look of realization,

"Clarence, yeah."

"Did you two talk?"

"Not much, I think he was on the run."

"Did you see him with the victim?" She'd be lying if she said she wasn't starting to get worried, "No."

"Okay?" she was hoping for a little bit more information. "He went off to sleep in another part of the resort." The man started walking away, but grace persisted.

"Sir, please, we need to find him. Where did he go last night?"

"He's not there now."

"I'll ask again, where'd he go?" the man threw something in the trash receptacle before turning to face her and Sam.

"I saw him running from under the bridge to the highway."

"Any idea where he was headed?"

"He flagged a truck heading north. Detroit, probably."

"Why Detroit?"

"Truck was marked 'motor city meats'" Grace heaved a sigh of relief, at least Cas was safe. They headed back tot eh car after she had thanked the man for his intel.

* * *

"Care to tell me why you're tailing my brothers and I?" Grace said, standing behind the reaper, blocking the way so Sam and Dean could get him.

"Answer her. It's in your best interest."

"Why are you trailing us?"

* * *

"So, Maurice. You bounty hunters are like Delta force reapers. Why would they sic you on Cas?" Grace took the blade from Dean, "He warded himself."

"That bitch Naomi, did she hire you?" Grace held the tip of the blade dangerously close to the reapers neck.

"You really are out of the loop, aren't you?* Grace frowned and sliced his cheek, he let out a hiss of pain. "Naomi is dead. Resting in pieces."

"So then who's running things now?" he gave no response and Grace carved into his chest. "Her protégé, Bartholomew. He and up-and-comer."

"So he figured we'd lead you to Cas?" grace finally stepped away from Maurice, but kept the angel blade where he could see it.

"This Bartholomew, he organizing the angels?"

"That's all I know" Dean nodded to grace, who flashed a sardonic smile as she tilted the reapers head up, looking him in the eyes.

"You can kill me. it wont matter. If I don't find Castiel, there are others that will. But do what you want." She frowned at his attitude and puled the knife away for a second, letting hm think they were going to spare him, but just when he heaved a sigh of relief she jammed the blade up into his skull.

* * *

*Grace's P.O.V*

"Cas!" Dean pulled the angel blade from his coat and went for the woman who had just stabbed Castiel, "Cas! Oh…Oh god…" The red head flung dean around like he was some toy before turning and doing the same to Sam, she finally turned to me.

"Ah, the littlest Winchester, there's been big talk about you with the Angels, for quite sometime now. You're kind of a big deal." She grinned, kicking the blade out of everyone's reach, Sam and dean were getting back to their feet.

"What are you talking about?"

"Looks like this girls popular with all the boys." She frowned, advancing on Sam, as Grace tried to gingerly pull the blade out of Cas's stomach, once it was out she handed it to dean and applied as much pressure to the wound as possible. Sam was enough of a distraction to let Dean get close enough to Kill the red head. There was a surge of bright white light.

"Cas. Cas. Cas!"

"No…" I could feel my heart break, knowing he was dead, "Grace, he's gone. I'm sorry." But it wasn't Sam, it was Zeke, he was Healing Cas, but we could both see it was weakening him, "Zeke, don't…you need your strength."

"But this makes you sad." He replied, pushing on. "Yes, death would make anyone sad, Zeke." Once he finished he backed up, unsteady on his feet, he used the wall to steady himself but it failed and he hit the floor as Cas woke up.

"Dean…Grace." I smiled at him, "Hey Cas. You're alright."

"Hey. Hey! Yeah." Dean came back towards Cas, and Grace smiled at the two of them, they had a deep bond, much like he and Sam, Cas was his brother, even if it was an unspoken agreement.

"And Sam."

"Cas, you're okay?" Grace took this opportunity to smack Cas, "Never do that again!" he looked stunned at the blonde sitting next to him.

"All right. But I'm confused. I know she stabbed me, but I'm—well, I don't appear to be dead."

"Well, you got dinged.* He looked back at Sam, "And, uh, you. I made a deal with her. Said she wouldn't get kabobbed if she brought you back."

"She brought you back."

"You lied."

"I did. I do that." I stood, about to step back but Castiel grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Grace." I couldn't look at him, "Cas, Please…Don't." he tilted his head in confusion.

"You helped me, even though I angered you. Why?" I turned back to face him, unable to hold the tears back any longer.

"Because Cas, that's what people do when they care about other people, it's called empathy."

"I know what Empathy is Grace, but usually when one holds a grudge, they act selfishly."

"I'd tell you the truth but I already know how you feel about me."

"Grace, what are you—what is she talking about." He turned to look at Sam and Dean as tugged myself free of him and walked out the door.

* * *

"I am really, enjoying his place. Plentiful food. Good water pressure. Things I never even considered before."

' _Grace'_ he thought to himself, which he suddenly felt rather odd about. "There really is a lot to being human, isn't there?"

"It ain't all just Burritos and strippers, my friend."

"Yeah. I understand what you're saying."

"You do?" Sam asked with interest

"Yes, there's more to humanity than survival. You…look for purpose, and you must not be defeated by anger or despair. Or hedonism, for that matter." Grace picked that moment to re-enter the room, it seemed she had calmed down some since they had gotten back but she was still giving Cas the cold shoulder.

"Where does Hedonism come into it?" Grace sat down, looking interested, her tone testing, "Yeah Cas, tell us, where does hedonism come into play. Cas suddenly felt uncomfortable,

"Well, Let's just say my time with April was very educational." He wasn't sure he wanted to continue this conversation, he had had intercourse with April, and he had found it very educational, but he decided he did not want to piss off Grace.

"Yeah. I mean, I would think getting killed is something." What happened next not even Cas as quick enough to stop himself.

"And having sex." He stopped, actually they all stopped, Dean and Grace both looked stunned, Dean chocked on his burrito.

"You had sex with April." Cas caught the look in Graces eyes, and felt a pang in his chest, something he had never felt before.

"Yeah, that would be where the Hedonism comes in." Grace muttered, standing and heading back to her room.

"So…did you have protection?" Cas looked confused as he watched Grace leave, he had a longing to go after her

"I had my angel blade."

* * *

Grace slammed the door to her room, she new she was overreacting, Cas hadn't been human for very long so naturally he wouldn't understand the complications of it all. She was pulled from her thoughts by a knock on her door.

"Grace, open the door." She didn't move. "Grace I can't just teleport in anymore, please, you need to open the door." She sighed, knowing he wouldn't just give up, he had always been persistent, walking over she opened the door.

"Grace, I know what I did was wrong, and I am sorry."

"I know Cas."

"I should not have slept with—wait, you know? But I hadn't said it yet." She laughed a little

"Cas, sit down." he complied with her command and took a seat in her desk chair.

"Cas, Being human is hard, I get it, and I have no right to be mad at you sleeping with April, she was kind to you when on one else was going to be, I get it, I do, you were just doing what you thought would repay her kindness." Grace smiled, "But you need to know, you can't trust everyone. The world is in Chaos right now."

Cas felt like a child being scolded, "Yes I know, and I am to blame for that. I was Naïve and Metatron took my grace."

"No, Castiel, Metatron is to blame, he tricked you, and we will get him back for what he did, but right now, I think it's best if you lay low for a while, keep off the angels radar. And the reapers."

"here is safe?" Grace smiled, "Here is safe, you have a home here." Cas ran a thumb over the back of her small hand as another knock came at her door.

"Cas, uh, can we talk?"

"Of course. Dean, you know I always appreciate our talks, our time together." Dean took a seat on the foot end of Grace's bed.

"Listen Buddy, um…you can't stay." Grace looked at Dean like he was insane, Cas looked like a kicked puppy.

"He doesn't have anywhere else to go, dean."

"I know Grace, and I'm sorry." Grace had a sudden Idea, "I can rent a place, we can stay there." Dean looked at her like she was insane, "No, Grace I want you nowhere near this."

"Dean, I'll be fine, you and Sam trained me, Bobby taught me to shoot, I can handle this, it'll be like he has a personal body guard. I'll make sure we stay off the radar, and if anything comes up I'll call." He looked to be considering it.

"Fine, you go with Cas, but I'm holding you to that, the second anything goes wrong, you call me or Sam, I don't care what hour of the day or night it is. You understand me?"

"Yes, Dean, I understand. You just make sure to keep your phone on, tell Sam too. I'll call when we've settled in." Cas looked at Grace now.

"You don't have to do this."

"I want to, Cas, Plus it'll be better than sleeping on the streets, you'll have your own room, we can get jobs, you'll get the full human experience." She had popped open a suit case.

"But I'll only be an inconvenience to—" Grace turned and looked at him as dean walked out the door, "Castiel, don't you dare finish that sentence. You're not inconveniencing me, I want to help." She smiled at him, Cas would never admit it but he felt something in the pit of his stomach when she looked at him.

"Get some sleep, we'll leave in the morning."

"But what about you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in concern. "I need to apartment hunt, I'll also just sleep in one of the other rooms." With that she was gone.

TA-DA ch. 11 done, and more on the way. I love hearing from those of you reading. so please leave reviews, they motivate me :3


	12. The day he knew

"Home, it's feels like such a foreign word, all things considered." Cas looked around the relatively luxurious apartment, how Grace had managed to land a condo, he would never understand, but he was certainly not complaining.

"Hey, you gonna sit there slack-jaw or are you gonna help me unpack?"

"Oh, right, of course. I will help unpack." He set about opening one of the boxes marked living room, he pulled out a few various odds and ends and set them aside as he continued to look through the contents, he stopped wen he came to an old looking book, pulling it out he looked at the cover, it was labeled 'photo album'.

"Grace?" she peeked over at him from the stack of boxes she was digging through, seeing him looking at the book she smiled sadly.

"It's a family photo album, you can look at it if you want. It's just pictures of my mom and I, some of all of us." He looked down at the photo album.

"I don't want to intrude on your privacy." She smiled at him, walking over, "You're not intruding if I gave you permission, Cas. Come on, we can look together." She pulled hm back to his feet, leading him to the couch.

"Are you certain?" she just shook her head, "Yes, Cas, I am certain." He finally opened the book, and stared at the picture, it was of a woman holding a baby, "Your mother?" he had guessed, but he had to wonder who had taken the photograph. Grace seemed sad.

"Yes, John was the one taking the photo, I didn't even know he was my dad until I was maybe five or six, that's when I first met Sam and Dean as well, they used to make such a fuss when we'd play outside." She laughed, "Constantly making sure I didn't bump into anything or get hurt. There was one time John had taken us all to one off the parks where I grew up, one of the older boys had shoved me off the merry go round, scraped my face up pretty bad. Dean hunted that kid and beat him up pretty bad."

"You call him John?" she nodded, "It's weird calling someone who was rarely ever around your dad, isn't it?" he had never thought abut that, his own father had been absent for as long as he could remember, but he never thought it odd, considering his title.

"Yes, Yes I think I can kind of understand now. I have never thought of it that way. My father is always busy, being god, when he left I never became bitter though, I followed orders. I was a soldier." Grace patted his shoulder, leaning her head on it.

"Fathers are complicated, but they always want the best for their children. I can only imagine that's why he kept bringing you back. He cares for all of you, you're his children, even if he's not always around to show it." her words kept surprising him, she was mortal, and still so young at that, but she had wisdom beyond her years.

"I hope you are not too angry with him, I am sure you'll find him again, someday. Then you'll get all the answers you've been seeking." Castiel smiled, leaning his head on top of hers now.

"Thank you Grace." She patted his hand and turned the page.

* * *

"I know it's kind of bare right now, but we can go get more stuff for your room tomorrow, I only had a few hours to get thing squared away before we arrived." He smiled.

'No, this is fine, Thank you, Grace." She turned, ready to leave him to his thoughts when he stopped her.

"Grace I—" she turned, a smile on her face, but her eyes held a different emotion, one he still hadn't gotten firm grasp on.

"What is it?"

"Will…will you stay?" he narrowed his eyes in the way he usually did when he was either confused or conflicted.

"Stay?" she looked at him with confusion, "Cas, I'm not going anywhere." He shook his head at her, "No, Grace, Will you stay here…with me…tonight." She finally realized what he was asking, and flashed him an uncertain look.

"Please?" he said, still doing that thing with his eyes, she sighed, unable to deny the look he was giving her.

"I'll stay, Cas. But just for tonight." He nodded, what happened next had her red in the face, he had started undressing.

"C-Cas! What are you doing?!"

"I was getting ready for bed…besides, I need to wash these clothes."

"Just toss them in the laundry basket, we'll get you some more clothes tomorrow as well." She was still red in the face as she shielded her eyes.

"Why are you covering your eyes." Realization seemed to dawn on him "Grace, you have never been with a man?" her face turned even more red, but she shook her head.

"N-No, never in that way."

"That is surprising. You are exquisite." Flattery, oh boy, being human certainly did suit Castiel, more than he even knew., he walked towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Cas, w-what are you doing?" she felt his breath on her neck and shuddered, "C-Cas…" he pressed his lips to her skin.

"I—" he kissed her skin again, nipping at the soft flesh with his teeth, "Saw this in a movie." Her eyes went wide, this was definitely escalating, and she felt something spread through her body.

"Cas…" she reached her hand back to touch his face, as he continued to nip at her skin, pulling her back towards the bed. He finally pulled away from her, staring down into the deep blue abyss of her eyes.

"Grace…" he was beginning to wonder if he should continue, he knew he felt something for her, but he was unsure if it was desire, or something else, whatever it was, she wasn't stopping him so he leaned back down, trailing soft kisses down from her jawline to her collar bone before finally kissing her lips.

Grace finally put a hand on his chest, stopping him, "Cas, I…I think we should stop, not that I'm not enjoying myself, I am, but…do you feel anything for me, or is this just a spur of the moment thing? Because if it is, I don't want to get hurt."

"It is, undeniable, that I feel something for you, Grace." She smiled up at him, her cheeks still flushed.

"That's a good starting point, but usually people do this when their relationships are stronger." He rolled over, laying next to her on the bed.

"Stronger? You mean what you humans call Dating?" she grinned, "Yes, Cas, Dating Is a custom we have on Earth, and if you get lucky, there is always more of….well, this."

"I enjoy this." Cas admitted as he took her hand in his, rubbing her thumb over her skin., he had never noticed how much smaller her hand was compared to his, or how soft.

"I know, most men do." She said, turning her head to grin at him.

"I owe you an apology." He turned, felling into her eyes again, "For what?"

"For sleeping with April." Grace scoffed at him, "Castiel, you don't owe me an apology. We've been over this. Besides, it's not like we're together, you can sleep with whoever you want." He caught that look in her eyes again, the one that made him feel angry.

"Grace…I feel Angry."

"Why?"

"I keep hurting you. And you get this look in your eyes, I don't like it. I don't like knowing I am the one causing you pain." She didn't know how to respond to this so she sat up, his eyes followed her.

"Then do something about it, Castiel." There as something in her tone now, it gave him that funny feeling again, the one he enjoyed having, one he only got when he was around her. In an instance he pulled her back down so she was laying next to him again.

"Cas!?" she was surprised by the sudden actions he kept displaying tonight, it was almost possessive.

"Grace…will you be mine?" she looked at him confused, wondering if she had heard him right. "What?" she asked.

"Will you be mine?" he asked once more, she smiled, looking into the face she loved.

"Whatever you want, Castiel."

* * *

Grace woke up, feeling strong arms around her waist, she didn't want to move incase she woke Cas, but at the same time she was hungry, thanks to the ex-angel neither of them had eaten dinner last night.

"Cas. Cas, wake up." she heard a low grumble and laughed as he tugged her closer, nuzzling his face in her hair.

"Sleep, just a little longer." She groaned inwardly, knowing he was stronger than her so she wouldn't be getting out of bed until he was ready. Sighing she rolled over to face him, kissing the tip of his nose softly.

"Good morning." His voice was a bit more gravelly than usual, but she smiled none the less, "Morning, Cas. I was going to go make breakfast, do you want anything special?"

"I want to try Bacon." She raised an eyebrow a the request, "Bacon, really?"

"Yes, Really." She just shook her head at him, "Bacon it is, Eggs and toast sound like a good accompaniment?" she heard no complaints as Castiel finally let her go.

"when we're done we'll go out and get some more necessities."

* * *

The two sat in awkward silence, Cas had wolfed down his food, much to Grace's dismay and disgust.

"Cas, slow down, it's food, it's not going anywhere." He looked like a child who'd been scolded, "I am sorry."

"No need to be sorry, Cas. Just enjoy the food. Do you want more?" he nodded, passing his plate over to her, she just shook her head and plated up some more food.

"If you eat too fast your stomach will expand, then you get fat. You also run the risk of choking."

"Yes, I am aware. Thank you for your concern." She passed his plate back to him and they two ate the rest of the meal in a comfortable silence.

* * *

"You are difficult to shop for…I've only ever seen you wear that suit and trench coat ensemble."

"Yes, well it was comfortable."

"But you can't run around in suits all the time, Cas." He looked slightly put off by her statement, but he nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I suppose that would look rather odd." Grace had pulled a few dress shirts off the racks of the store, and some jeans for him.

"Go try these on, the fitting room is just back there, I'll wait here." she watched him walk away, and sighed, "He's so innocent, it's insane." She said shaking her head.

It didn't take long for Castiel to return, "The lady said to leave the ones that didn't fit in the room. So I did."

"See, you're getting this. Do you like all of the ones that did fit?"

"I left the ones I didn't in the dressing room."

"All right. We'll let's go pay for this stuff. Then we can grab lunch and hit some more stores, Maybe buy a T.V."

* * *

The two finally arrived back at the apartment, loaded with bags.

"Why don't you go put your things away?" she set some of the bags down on the couch as Cas went to put his new belongings in his room. When he came back Grace was asleep on the couch, today must have taken a lot out of her.

Walking over, he gently picked her up and carried her back to her room, laying her on the bed. As he stepped back he admired her sleeping face, she looked peaceful, like the night he had seen her in the motel, that was a fond memory for him. As he pulled the blankets over her he bent down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Good night, Grace."

* * *

GAH! This chapter was really weird to write since it didn't follow any conventional plots of the show, nonetheless, I do think it turned out really well! It gave them some relationship development, despite them deciding to have a mind of their own and getting carried away up in my head…horny little bastards…YOU'LL GET YOUR CHANCE! *Shakes fist angrily.*

Anyways, I do hope you enjoyed this, and if not the next chapter will have some more action in it, just stick with me until then :3.


	13. Heaven Can't Wait

*A few weeks later. *

Grace set her keys on the hook by the front door and kicked off her shoes, Castiel wouldn't be home for a few more hours yet, he had found a job at the local gas 'n sip, why he chose to work there she'd never understand. but it wasn't her business. Something had been nagging her since the day at Aprils apartment, she had said something.

" _there's been big talk about you with the Angels, for quite some time now. You're kind of a big deal."_

What had she been talking about, she wanted to ask Castiel if he knew anything but she didn't want to bother him if it was nothing. Sighing she stood and went for the kitchen, setting about making dinner.

* * *

The door opened and she heard the shuffle of familiar feet, she laughed internally, poor guy always came home tired.

"Grace?"

"In here, Cas." Things had begun to feel like they were a married couple from some sitcom, it was almost surreal.

"Dinner is almost ready."

"I do enjoy your cooking." She smiled at the subtle compliment, turning off the pot of boiling noodles.

"Maybe tomorrow we can just order in, or maybe go to a sit in restaurant. It'd be a nice change of pace."

"It would, Nora tells me there is a nice Italian place over on 6th." Grace nodded, "I've passed by there a few times on my way to work, it's nice, but you need to make a reservation, and it's ridiculously fancy." She dished up some pasta for him and then set the two plates on the table.

"Water alright? I never made it to the store for other beverages." She looked apologetic but Castiel just smiled, "Water is Fine. Thank you."

"You sound like you're in a relatively good mood. I assume work was easy today."

"Oh, actually, I accidentally broke the slushy machine, there was a huge mess." She raised an eyebrow, wondering how this would be a good thing.

"Nora says everyone makes mistakes, and that I shouldn't worry about it."

"She's a sweetheart, my boss is a hard ass. Cas, not to get of subject, but can I ask you a question."

"Of course, I'll try and be helpful in answering."

"April, she said something, the day we found you."

"What did she say?" Grace wasn't sure if she should continue, what if he didn't know, she sighed and went on with it.

"She said I was a big deal with the angels, that'd there'd been big talk amongst them about me. Do…Do you know why they'd be talking about me?"

"There were talks about you, but I am not certain as to why, Grace. I was pretty low ranking in the Garrison so I never picked up on much." She sighed.

"I appreciate the Effort, Cas. Thank you."

"Of course. By the way, I called Dean." Grace choked on her food before looking at him again, "Y-You did what? Why?"

"There was an article in the paper this morning about a man who was presumed dead. There were reports of a strange substance at the scenes."

"So you called Dean?"

"Yes. I thought he could help."

* * *

"Dean."

"Hey, Grace." She looked well rested, something that was surprising considering she'd always been kind of a busy person. "You look good." She just smiled, hugging her arms to her chest, "Thanks, Dean. So…any leads?"

"Four vic's suddenly exploded. I tried EMF. I've looked for Hex bags, sulfur—nada."

"Spontaneous combustion? Maybe that Nazi group you and Sam told me about?"

"No, No, no. I already ruled them out. The bodies were vaporized. They weren't burned."

"Interesting. So, we got a case?"

"No, I have a case. You're going to go home and do what we agreed on, watch Cas." Alright, that was enough.

"Dean Winchester, you listen to me.* he looked surprised, "First of all, I am your sister, not your daughter, you do not get to tell me what to do. Second, I am a hunter, just the same as you, just the same as Sam. I chose this life, even though I didn't have to. Now, I am going to help in any way that I can and you're going to fucking deal with it, or I am going to find a way to bring dad back so he can whoop your ass five ways to Sunday." She had dean cornered, his back pressed to the door of the impala.

"Ok, geez, Grace. Calm down." He had never seen her so adamant about a job before, "What's going on with you?"

"What's going—What's going on? Dean I've just had enough of your crap, you treat me like I'm some god damn china doll, all the fucking time. I'm tired of it. You know I'm capable, but you always come up with some half assed excuse as to why I'll be in your way. I want to know why."

"Grace, can't this wait?" he caught the 'you're in trouble' look and shook his head "Okay, guess not." Last time he had seen that look she wailed on him until both his eyes were swollen and his lip had split. It was a terrible week of recovery.

"By the way, why are you outside where Cas works?"

"Just checking in. Seeing how he's doing."

"oh, because you're such a good friend?" He caught the tone of her voice, another thing he was wary of.

"Yes." The two finally went into the small station.

"Grace? What are you—"

"I'll have some beef jerky and a pack of menthols." Castiel's smile dropped when he saw Dean.

"What are you doing here?"

"Gee, it's nice to see you too, Cas."

"He goes by Steve here, Dean."

"It's nice to see you too. And…you—surprised me."

"Well, the feeling's mutual. I mean, I know you had to lay low from the angel threat. But, uh, wow! This is some cover." Grace smacked his arm.

"Be nice, it's kind of your fault anyways, Dean. At least we found a place. I called in a favor from Charlie, and we've settled in pretty well." She left out there little make out session from the night they'd moved in.

"My Grace is gone. What did you expect? Do you have any idea how hard it was? When I fell to Earth, I didn't just lose my powers. I—I had nothing. If Grace hadn't offered to come with me, I'd still be bouncing around on the street, she helped me when you wouldn't."

"Cas, please, calm down." He looked at her, "Now, I'm a sales associate."

"A sales associate."

"Hey, Steve. Sign here?"

"I'm responsible for inventory, sales, customer service, I keep this place—thank you—" the delivery guy took the clip board back and left.

"Clean and presentable. And when my manager is busy, I even prepare the food."

"Wow. So you went from fighting heavenly battles to nuking taquitos?" Grace punched him in the arm again, he flashed her a bitchy face.

"Ow!" Cas looked at Grace in appreciation.

"Nachos too. Grace could you help me with something in the back room?" she nodded.

"Of course, Need help it stocking again?" he nodded, stepping out from behind the sales counter and heading for the stock room.

"You work here too?" she shook her head, "No, but Nora and I have become good friends so I come down to help from time to time."

"So where do you work? The local dairy queen?" he joked, Grace set the box down on the floor and turned, punching him in the gut.

"Fuck you, Dean. I work in an office buildings café, you know, making coffee and sandwiches, and I get paid pretty well."

"Ooh, big shot barista, I'm impressed." She got ready to punch him again but he backed away, Cas watched her incase she got out of control.

"Hate to interrupt you, guys, but Steve? Customer had an accident in the men's room. Hey Grace." She gave the blonde a friendly smile.

"I'm on it." with that he grabbed a mop and walked away.

"Hey, Nora. Hope it's alright I dropped by to help. I know I usually call first but I was in the area."

"Of course, I always appreciate the help, Grace. You're welcome anytime. Also, I hope it's alright that I borrow Steve, it's just for tonight." She was gone after that and Grace set about restocking the shelves. As dean conversed with someone on the phone.

"I'll be right there. There was another kill—over at the high school. You coming?"

"Are you going to make me stay in the car?"

"Grace, are we going to do this?"

"Am I?" he frowned,

"Just…come on!" she rolled her eyes, "Cas's shift ends in five minutes, let me finish restocking the peanuts, you can go grab the car."

"there's my little sis."

* * *

"one second we're talking , and then the next, she just…stops. And then everyone in the cafeteria freaks, rushing and pointing out the window, at—could—could that really be her?" Grace looked at the girl with sympathy.

"And nobody saw anyone else at the scene?—a man, a woman, anything unusual?"

"Your friend, was she, uh, depressed?"

"Depressed?"

"What my partner is asking was, did she have any thoughts of suicide?"

"Ew. No. I mean, she was kind of bummed, that dick-bag Travis broke up with her in front of the whole school."

"Kind of bummed?"

"Yeah. Like more bummed than when she got a 'C' on a quiz, and less bummed than when her parents split up. Kind of…bummed."

"Excuse us."

"Cas, are you alright? What's wrong?" he was leaned over the impala.

"I've seen this before."

"What? Where?"

"In heaven" Grace looked between Dean and Cas "Wait, an angel did this?"

"It's no ordinary angel. This is bad. This is very bad."

* * *

"On the battle fields of heaven, there was a special class of angel, the Rit Zien. It's Enochian for—"

"hands of mercy" Dean and Castiel turned to look at her, "Yes, that's…how did you know that?"

"I helped Kevin with translating Metatron's spell. He taught me a few things and I just kind of picked the rest up from there." Cas smiled, "Impressive, grace."

"Yes, I understand why that head of a goat thing is funny to you now." Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Anyways, these angels, they functioned like medics. They tended to the wounded they healed those that could be healed, but for the mortally wounded, those who were past saving, the Rit Zien's job was to put them down."

"But the granulated bodies?"

"This was their special ability. They had this way of smiting that was so quick and so total that it rendered death virtually painless.

"But these aren't wounded angels that they're vaporizing. They're people."

"Right. I don't know. The Rit Zien home in on pain, it's like a beacon to them. So, when this angel fell to earth, he heard the victims' cries, their anguish, same as he'd hear an angel's in heaven. He's continuing his heavenly work down here. on suffering human at a time."

"But his last victim was not suffering. She was just a normal, moody kid."

"But he just got here. the ebb and flow of human emotion—dean, I've been on earth for a few years, and I've only just begun to grasp it. To him, pain is pain."

"So, then everybody's fair game?"

"Sounds like it."

"All right, well, we gotta stop him."

"You two have to stop him." Grace caught the look in his eyes, and her expression softened. "Hey, you're scared."

"It's different now, Grace. everything feels different." She smiled, dean finally seemed to be picking up on the twos closer relationship.

"You're right, Cas. Things are different. We'll track down this, uh, Kevorkian wannabe, and we'll put him down." Castiel looked back at Grace again.

"No, I don't want you near him." She raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't asking, Cas."

"Grace!" she was taken aback by his sudden change of tone, Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Something going on with you two?" she rolled her eyes and Cas stayed awkwardly quiet.

"Cas?" neither of them could tell him the truth, he'd over react.

"Grace? Somebody tell me what the hell is going on." His tone was getting pushy, and she was uncertain if she really wanted to have this discussion right now.

"We, uh…we've gotten a bit closer since we left the bunker, Dean."

"But rest assured, we haven't had intercourse."

"It's all been harmless. I promise."

"Dude, you hooked up with my sister?" oh boy, this was going to end badly, but she was caught off guard by what happened next, Dean clapped a hand on Cas' shoulder.

"Good job, Buddy. For once it's not a demon, or a reaper gunning for your ass. Grace is safe." That was a bit offensive, she reached up and smacked him upside the head.

"Ow!" he flashed her a bitch face before grinning at the ex-angel once again.

"You are...okay with this?"

"Of course, Couldn't be happier. Besides, it's about damn time you two hooked up, Sam and I have had bets going for a while." He felt another smack to the back of his head.

"Would you cut that out?!" Grace just flipped him off, "Take me home dean, but first, let's drop Cas off at Nora's it's getting close to that time."

* * *

"You don't have to help me, I'll be fine."

"Nonsense, Cas. It's fine." Grace had been over once to watch Nora's little girl for her, she was such a sweet little baby.

"You two are adorable, how did you meet?" Nora grabbed her shawl, she was apparently going bowling, but used her date as an excuse to get dressed up.

"Steve, was friends with my brothers, Sam and Dean, so we actually kind of met by accident." She headed for the door.

"That's sweet, was it a love at first sight kind of thing? I'm a sucker for romance." Grace laughed nervously,

"No, actually we didn't get along when we first met, but we've been through a lot since then. I guess we just got closer. But enough about us you should go. I have your number in case we need to get ahold of you."

"You two are the best, thank you!" as soon as the door closed, Tanya began crying.

"I'll handle her, I know you get uncomfortable with babies." She walked over to the crib and picked Tana up, setting about calming her down.

"Hey, hey now. Shh, it's alright." Cas watched her with interest as she soothed the small infant. "How are you so good with her?" Grace smiled.

"I used to do this with my baby cousin, he was always so fussy, my aunt was always astounded with how I could calm him down so easily. She used to say I had a rare gift."

"Well, I'd say she was right. You are good with her." She turned, looking at him, "Do you want to hold her?" he looked nervous, but nodded, "Um, Okay." As Grace handed Tanya over to him the nervous look softened. She was surprised when he started singing a lullaby.

"There, see Cas, you're a natural." As he placed Tanya back in the crib, she started crying again. He looked nervously back to Grace, who just laughed.

"Aw, she likes you."

* * *

*An hour later*

"Nobody told you. Nobody explained. You're just shoved out. Kicking and screaming into this human life, without any idea why any of it feels the way it feels. Or why this confusion, which feels like it's a hairs breadth from terror or pain. You know, just when you think you do understand it'll turn out you're wrong. You didn't understand anything at all. I guess that's just how it is when you're new at this. You know, it wasn't that long ago when all I needed to do to ease your pain was touch you."

Grace leaned against the wall, listening to him as he talked to the little girl on his lap, was he really suffering that much?

"You're very warm. Is that normal? Oh. shh. Shh. shh. Shh. " Grace finally stepped back into the living room, Castiel looked at her but she said nothing as she took a seat next to him.

"Grace?" she still said nothing so they just sat in comfortable silence, "I'm gonna call Nora, Tanya is really warm."

"No need, I'll get the thermometer." He looked appreciative as she went up to the bathroom. "Grace, I'm going to step outside for a second." He called up the stairs.

"Alright, I have the thermometer, give me a second and I'll come with you." Cas waited by the door for her as he tried to quell the baby's cries, as soon as she returned he opened the door to see a man on the porch.

"Hello, Castiel, Grace." Something was up, how did this angel know her name?

* * *

"Squalid little dump. No wonder she cries."

"It's a fever, Ephraim. It will pass."

"You remember my name? I was just a nobody when we met. But you—you were a legend. You've been here before. This is my first time, and it's…intense."

"You know, there's a lot you don't understand about humanity at first. If you would just stop—"

"Stop? I won't stop until I wash the planet clean of all suffering." Grace looked from the angel to Tanya who had begun to fuss again, she moved towards the crib in defense.

"Allow me."

"No, you stay away from her."

"Don't…touch…her." Castiel's tone was low and dangerous.

"You think I came for her? No, Castiel. I came for you and the Angels fire." Angels fire, what the hell was he talking about?

"So much pain and despair, so many voices begging out for relief."

"How did you find us?"

"Because your warded? The same way I find all my patients I just followed the sound of your pain. You have no idea how loud it is. I could hear you for miles. As for the girl, she might be warded but she's a beacon of hope."

"Do you really think you're doing heavens work down here?"

"I know I am."

"You're wrong. Earth can be a hard place. But these humans, they can get better. They're just doing the best they can."

"Is that what you think you're doing, Castiel—the best you can? Well I'm sorry, but if this is the best that the famed Castiel can do, you're a more urgent case than I thought. I used to admire you. You failed more often than you succeeded but at least you played big." Grace spotted what he was doing, but so had Ephraim.

"Now what are you doing? Burying your head in the sand. Right when your kind need you most. Shh, shh, shh. It'll all be over soon. I'll take the pain away."

"I want to live."

"But as what, Castiel? As an angel or a man?" there was a sudden loud crash as Dean broke into Nora's home.

"Dean!"

"You say you want to live. But you can't see what I see. By choosing a human life, you've already given up. You chose death." She saw the pink light emanating from Ephraim's hand and tackled him to the ground.

"No!" Dean took the chance to toss Cas his angel blade, "Grace, Move!"

"Why you insolent woman, I don't care if you're sacred to our people, I will kill you just the same!"

"That's enough." Cas ran him through with the blade, Grace and dean shielded their eyes.

* * *

"I'm, uh, sorry I overreacted. Grace told me a low dose of Acetaminophen would bring the fever down."

"Oh, that's okay. My date was a bust anyways." Grace was waiting by the car as Cas and Nora talked.

"Steve? The part of you that overreacted, that cares so much? That's what makes you special. And Grace, you take care of her, she's a special girl. Treat her right." Castiel gave Nora a small smile as he looked over at the smaller blonde he had grown fond of.

"She is quite remarkable, I count myself lucky to have gotten to know her."

* * *

The two sat on the sofa in the living room.

"Grace?" her head was leaned on his shoulder, they had been sitting in silence since Dean had dropped them off.

"Are you happy?" she lifted her head to look at him, "Cas, we've been through hell and back, but I don't for a second, regret letting you into my life. I mean sure, we've had our share of hard times, and we've had more than our fair share of fights, but I don't regret any of them. So if I had to answer, then yes, I am happy. But there is something I need to ask you."

"You can ask me anything, Grace. I will do my best to answer."

"Ephraim called me the angels flame do you know what that is?"

"Well, it's long since been lost to angels so I won't be of much use, but I can tell you what I know. The angels flame, or the flaming sword, was placed by God at the gates of paradise after Adam and Eve were banished from it. it is said that he who finds the sword can enter paradise. but not only was it used to keep them out, it's a source of immense power for us Angel's."

"so, is that why Abbadon wanted me as a vessel?"

"It is hard to tell what her intentions are, but if I had to venture a guess I'd say that's pretty close. But as long as you have the anti-possession Tattoo, Abbadon cannot touch you. And if I am around, no demon will get close to you, Grace. I promise you."

* * *

So, I am going to leave this chapter right there. I know it was kind of lame, but hey, there's finally some development for Grace, and don't worry, I plan to delve more into her as we progress.

I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving! Christmas is up next :3 and I do have a special chapter planned for when it gets closer.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, more fluff will be coming, as well as some other stuff.


	14. Love me like you do

She felt warm breath on her face and rolled over, coming face to face with a sleeping Cas.

"good morning, Cas." He tugged her closer, seemingly not ready to get out of bed, "Five more minutes…" she just laughed at him but she relented, snuggling closer to the ex-angel.

"You're so clingy." She joked but he just held on tighter, pressing a soft kiss to her neck, "And very forward." She felt him smile into her skin. "Come on, Cas. I gotta make breakfast."

"Bacon and eggs?" another laugh, "If that is what you wish." He growled slightly at her words and pulled her back to him when she tried to get up.

"Cas!" she didn't understand why he was being so possessive today. "Mine." She sighed and rolled to look at him. "Cas, what's going on with you?" blue met blue as he stared back at her, "Not that I don't like it, but its uncharacteristic for you." He said nothing as he pressed another kiss to her neck.

"Don't ask questions." She raised an eyebrow but shrugged as he moved towards her collar bone.

"Cas…" He kissed her again, "Don't you want…" again, "Breakfast?" he stopped and looked down at her from where she was pinned, finally he rolled off her, she took that opportunity to climb out of bed.

* * *

"Good morning." Cas finally emerged from the bedroom they now shared, "Good morning, Cas." She scooped some eggs onto a plate for him, "I made extra Bacon." She grabbed the plates and set them on the table.

"Care to tell me what that was up in the bedroom?"

"Not really." She sighed and went back to eating, she heard Castiel sigh from his sot across from her.

"Ever since I first saw you, I knew you were special. At that point, I didn't have feelings for you, but as time went on . . ." Grace looked at him. "So…the more time you spent around me? Does this have anything to do with that angels flame thing?"

"Angels fire, but yes. I'll give you some time to think this through, but just know, I'll stay by you as long as you wish." She caught the look in his eyes, there was a type of longing, and something else she couldn't place. She suddenly stood and went to put her food away in the fridge.

"Grace?" she headed for the living room, ignoring him. "Grace, talk to me."

"What do you want?" his expression shifted, becoming angry.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me, Grace." She frowned at him, "Don't talk to me like I am a child, Castiel."

"To me you are a child, Grace!" she flinched away from him, his expression softened and he reached out to touch her face, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He sighed, gaze focusing on the far wall. "Every millennia or so, a handful of angels are given an opportunity…"

"But you're not an angel anymore, Castiel. You're human…we both are."

"Grace, I may not have my grace but I am still technically an angel, and you are far from human if you really are the flame."

"Why did it have to be me?" he frowned, not liking the tone her voice held, there was sadness, he put an arm around her shoulder as he sat next to her, pulling her closer.

"I…understand that this is a lot to handle, especially with everything going on."

"Last week I was just…Grace Winchester, hunter of the supernatural, saving people and hunting things, the family business you know? Now…Now I'm Grace Winchester, Angel fire and target for every angel and demon out there…"

"So you feel like Atlas?"

"Come again?"

"Atlas, I read it in a book, he pissed off the Greek gods and was punished with the task of carrying the world on his shoulders."

"And you think, lumping me together with a shamed god, is going to make me feel better?"

"No, that was not my intention. Grace, I don't know what you want me to say."

"That everything is going to be okay, Cas. I'm tired of being afraid that tomorrow is my last day, that I'll never see Sam, or Dean, or… you again. I'm scared, Castiel." She felt her head rest against his shoulder.

"I know, and I can't promise you things will get easier, but like I said, I'll stay by you, for as long as you'll have me."

"Thank you."

* * *

*Later that night.*

 _Grace looked around, this was her old room, but there was no way she could be back, she hadn't been back since the night her mother was killed. This had to be a dream._

" _Mom?"_

" _GRACIE, RUN!" she jumped at the sudden scream and sprinted downstairs, stopping in the living room entry way, just as she had when she was 15. The demon held her mother captive._

" _Let her go!" the demons smile chilled her to her core, "Once I'm done with mommy, I'll deal with you, Gracie…" the way the thing said her name made her flinch. She watched as the demon snapped her mother's neck._

"… _ace…Wake up." The voice sounded familiar._

" _Grace, you need to wake up!"_

She snapped back into reality, Cas looked down at her worriedly, it quickly changed to surprise when she leapt at him. Uncertain of what to do he awkwardly patted her back.

"You had a nightmare?" she nodded, keeping her head pressed to his chest.

"Um…Okay…" he tried to remember what Sam and Dean did when this happened "Shh, it's gonna be okay, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." He ran his fingers through her hair to soothe her.

"Promise?" the way her voice wavered made him angry, what had she been dreaming about, how could this girl he saw as Fearless, be spooked by something like a nightmare?

"Shh, I promise, I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay right here, Paid ra." She finally seemed to relax.

"Lay back down." Grace did as he told her and laid back down, Castiel draped and arm over her and she snuggled closer, he used his free hand to keep stroking her hair, as he curled around her in an effort to protect her.

"I'm here, right here." his breath stirred her hair, and grace relaxed against him. Angel or not, she found comfort in him being next to her. She slowed her breathing to match Castiel's, and soon was able to fall into sleep.

* * *

The next morning she snuck out of bed to take a shower and put on clean clothes, she had another day off as her manager was training in a few new employees.

"Grace?"

"Yeah, Cas?"

"Why didn't you wake me?" she raised an eyebrow at his question, "I just figured you'd want to sleep some more. Besides, not like you were going to shower with me." His eyes roamed her figure, as if the idea was not appalling.

"You….you weren't planning on showering with me, were you, Cas?" the ex-angel was now blushing.

"The idea is not…terrible. Besides, I believe we are…dating." She stared at him with a shocked expression.

"We're dating?" the notion was strange to her, did angels even date?

"I understand that is what humans do." She smiled. "I know, Cas. It's just weird to hear that from you."

"It's weird?"

"Well yeah, I mean I know you said yesterday that Angels find Mates, but do they date before they do this or what?" now he raised an eyebrow.

"No, Angels do not date. It's more like when they find a mate they mark them…but I'm human now, so I am trying it your way."

"They mark them? Is it painful?" he advanced on her, "No, it's almost like what you humans call a love bite, except once you receive the mark of your mate, you're locked into a contract of sorts, the only way the contract is nullified is if the angel who marked you is killed."

"So, if you still had your angel mojo…you'd have chosen me?"

"That is correct. Angels usually carry the scent of their mates. To keep other potential mates away."

He was in front of her now, a rough hand touching her cheek. "You're beautiful, Grace." Now it was her turn to blush.

"Well, who knew angels were so good at flattery." He smirked, something certainly uncharacteristic of the usually firm but gentle angel. Cas was looking at her desperately. His eyes seemed both hopeful and hopeless at the same time. Grace felt her heart break. Part of her wanted to hold him tight, but she made no moves towards him, as he stared down at her.

"I'm new to this whole 'angel' thing, even though you don't have your Mojo right now, so I'm sorry if I say something offensive."

"I understand. And I will try to explain things you may not understand," Castiel promised as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in for another kiss. She kissed him back, He let out a small smile, and leaned in as Grace kissed him back, wrapping her slender arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Castiel obliged, winding his arms through hers. His mouth opened slightly against hers, and teeth teased at her bottom lip. Grace tilted her head, deepening the kiss, wondering somewhere in the back of her mind how Cas got this good. She ran her hands through his soft hair.

after a moment Castiel pulled away. Grace just smiled, brilliant blue eyes sparkling, and pulled him back in for another kiss. He happily consented.

After what felt like forever, yet at the same time only a mere second, they broke apart. Grace looked up to see his pupils blown. She stared up at him for a moment before sneaking under his arm to go sit on the bed. Castiel followed behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, peppering her neck with kisses as he pulled her further down into the comfort of the mattress.

Grace squirmed playfully as he pulled her down on top of him. "You, are a very tenacious angel, Castiel."

"It's the only way to get what I want," Castiel mumbled back, flipping her so he was now on top, burying his nose into her neck.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be?" she asked kindly, referring to his Job at the gas station.

"Yes. Right here."

Grace closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her lips. They ached in need, but she stubbornly refused to give in quite yet. "I was talking about your job. Doesn't Nora need you at the store?"

"She'll survive," Castiel grunted. "Right now, you need me more."

"Oh?" Grace raised her eyebrow playfully. "And what does that mean?"

Castiel effectively silenced her with a kiss. she melted into him; for her, he was the only thing in the world that mattered right now. Castiel ran his fingers through her long hair, curling it around his fingers. He gently pulled her hair back, and Grace arched her spine. Castiel kissed her neck, trailing them back up to her lips. He kissed her passionately, and Grace easily matched his intensity. She ran her hands up his chest, and tangled her fingers in his dark hair. they finally broke apart.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too, Cas," Grace yawned.

"I mean it, Grace." She could make out the faint gleam of his blue eyes. "I _love_ you. More than anything." He pressed a light kiss on her forehead. She felt the hand on her stomach began to move, running drifting lightly down her shirt. It slipped under the soft fabric, rough skin against smooth. Cas drew small patterns that grew larger and more complex by the minute. He traced her ribs, making her shiver. He ran his hand down, circling her navel, before stopping by her hips. He ran a finger over her sharp hipbone, trailing it across to the other, creating more patterns on its way. Grace jumped when two fingers slipped below the waistband of her jeans.

"Castiel," she started to protest, rolling over to face him. Cas silenced her with a kiss. One strong arm snaked around to her back, pulling her into his broad chest. He propped himself up on his elbows, hovering over her. His head tilted, making the kiss more heated. His tongue ran over her bottom lip, and Grace opened her mouth, letting him take control. He happily obliged.

She reached up, wrapping her arms around his back, tracing the strong muscles up his back. she let out a soft gasp when the angel lowered himself completely onto her, pushing her down into the sheets once more, his lips never leaving hers. He rolled his hips, and Grace instinctively pushed up into him. Fingers ran down her sides, and thumbs hooked themselves under the waistband of her pants. She reached a hand up to his chest, gently.

"Cas…" he stopped, staring down at her, "What is it?"

"Cas, I…I'm not ready" Castiel rolled off her, letting her sit up. "Grace?"

"I'm really sorry, Castiel. I just... Don't get me wrong, I love you, more than you know, but I'm not ready for this." He smiled, another uncharacteristic thing for the ex-angel, as he reached out to touch her face again.

"I understand, Grace. I won't force you." She leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, "Thank you. Now, how about you get ready for work, and I'll drive you?"

"Yes, I believe Nora would appreciate me showing up for my shift." Grace grinned.

"Maybe I'll hang around and help, todays a training day so I have the day off again."

"I'd enjoy that." He kissed her again, she smiled into the kiss "I bet you would."

* * *

So, that's where I end ch. 14. I hope you enjoyed it, I know I did *Wink* PLEASE! leave reviews. I enjoy hearing from all of you!

Word: Paid Ra

Pronunciation: Pah Deh Rah

Translation: Always and forever.


	15. The Little Supernatural Girl

All right, so here it is, my special little Christmas thing I promised, and it contains something ALL fans have been wanting to since a certain character was introduced into the show. I went with the little Match girl for the story, but it has a MUCH happier ending this time around.

also, I have officially got the ending to part 1 finalized in my head, but you out there in reader land will NOT be very happy with me when it comes to pass. but don't worry, Part two will make you smile again :)

Anyways, please enjoy _'The little Supernatural Girl'_

* * *

The fire blazed in the living room of Grace and Cas' apartment, since Dean had left them on the bridge, no one had heard from him. Grace had been knocked out since then. Castiel had checked in on her a few times since they had returned home, calling into let Nora know he would not be at work, being too afraid to leave her alone after what had gone on. He was grateful she had been understanding.

The human holiday he'd come to know as Christmas was tomorrow, the humans celebrated the birth of Jesus in December, which he did not understand since the man had actually been born sometime in the early spring, supposedly he was the child of god, though there had been no talk of such a man in heaven, ever. A sudden sound of foot fall roused him from his thoughts.

"Good morning sleepy—" his eyes wide as he saw Grace standing in what was now very oversized clothing, in the door way to the living room. "Oh no…"

"Why is everything to tall? Am I dreaming?" the Angel was panicked as he looked at the little girl.

"Cas, why do you look so scared?" The angel ran a hand down his face, eyes closed, as if this was all a dream and when he opened them things would be normal. Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes she was still a child. He pulled out his phone, unsure if he should call Sam or not, after minutes of deliberation he gave in and dialed the younger Winchester brother.

" _Cas?"_

"Sam…I have…I have a situation" Grace had found a mirror and within seconds, even Sam could hear her screaming through the phone.

" _Cas, what's going on? Was that Grace?"_ The angel didn't know how to tell him his sister was a child

"Yeah, can you come by, I'll text you the address."

" _Of course, I'll start heading your way now, I should be there by this evening, I'm just finishing up a job."_

Castiel watched Grace huddle up in a corner, in terror, "Please Hurry…I don't know how to handle this." He hung up the phone and stared warily at the child now in the corner, watching him with wide eyes.

"Hey, Sam is going to come by later..."

"Oh…great…"

* * *

A knock was heard several hours later, Grace sprinted to hide, tripping over the legs of the now oversized pants she had on.

"So, what's the emergency, Cas?" Sam looked around the place, looking for any signs of an attack.

"I, Uh, I think it's be best if I just show you" he led Sam back to his and Grace's bedroom, he knew she was in the closet, where else did human children hide when they didn't want to be found.

"Grace, I know you're in there. Open the door." Cas order, sounding like a father.

"No! You can't make me!" Sam raised an eyebrow, then a finger to his lips signaling they could trick her out of hiding by pretending to leave, both headed for the door.

"All right, but Sam is here, I thought we could all spend Christmas together." Once by the door they kicked off their shoes, and Sam slammed the door, tip toeing back towards the closet, signaling for Cas to keep quiet on the other side of the door.

Eventually the closet door opened, and Sam's eyes widened, as out crawled his sister, only she was 7 years old again. He snatched the little girl up in his arms.

"GOTCHA!" Grace let out a horrified scream as she was suddenly lifted into the air, she swung her fist out towards his face, but the impact barely hurt the large hunter.

"was that supposed to hurt?" he questioned, giving her a stern look, she just glowered at him in response.

"You're mean, Sam." Cas looked uncomfortable, the woman he dared to admit he loved, was now a child, he had never been good with children, they made him uncomfortable.

"So…care to explain how this happened?" Sam carried the squirming girl out into the living room, where she now sat, pouting.

"That's the thing, I have no idea how this happened, Sam. I thought of witches, but that's doubtful since she hasn't angered anyone—I know who did this." His ran his hand down his face again, Sam looked at him, obviously wanting to know who had done this.

"Metatron."

"I'm going to punch him so hard in the—" Sam's hand flew over her mouth, in retaliation, she licked his palm, resulting him pulling his hand away, flashing a disgusted look at the now little, Grace.

"Real Mature, Grace…Real Mature." She shrugged "I could have punched you in the dick instead." He flashed her another look, "You know, I'm a lot older than you now, I will ground you." She stuck out her tongue and went back to pouting on the couch.

"How do we turn her back?" Cas just shook his head, "I have no idea, Metatron loves his games. So, I assume this is going to be tedious."

A sudden sound of feathers rustling filled the room, "Right you are, Ass-tiel." Sam's eyes trailed from the douchebag angel to the couch where Grace was supposed to be sitting, but she was not there anymore.

"Aww, she's adorable, she wants to say hit to Uncle Meta—OW!" Metatron doubled over, Apparently, she had meant when she said she was going to punch him in the dick, Sam and Castiel's eyes widened

"Did she just—?"

"She did…" Metatron tried to smile through the pain, but anyone could tell he wanted to throttle the child, Sam pulled her out of his way.

"She's…She's very _charming_." He choked out regaining his composure. "I see the Winchester blood was strong even when the bitch was little. Castiel flashed him a warning look. "Watch your tongue, Metatron. You know what she is capable of."

"Yes, I am fully aware. But that is not why I am here."

"Why are you here?" Sam inquired, holding Grace back from beating on the angel anymore.

"Well, it's Christmas, Castiel. I believe for Human's it is a time for family to get together and celebrate."

"You, are not my family, Metatron." The other angel imitated a sad expression, "That's hurts, Castiel. No, I wouldn't waste my time being sentimental with you three."

"Can I punch him again? Sam, if you put your hand over my mouth one more time, I'm going to eat it." Sam took her threat to heart and kept his hands to himself.

"Adorable. But back to why I'm here." He snapped his fingers and Grace was gone, to who knows where.

"Where did you send her?" Castiel advanced on Metatron, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, "Ah, she's closer than you think, but if you harm me, you'll never see her again, either of you."

"What did you do?" Sam's eyes held murder in them, "If she's in any kind of danger, I will run you through."

"Oh, Sam, Grace is fine—for now." He finished before flying out.

"Shit! Cas. We gotta find her." Cas looked at a shelf of books, Sam walked over and pulled one off the shelf, "The little match girl?" Castiel raised an eyebrow.

"She loved this book when we were little. She said it kept her thankful that she had a family, even after all the shit that happened when we were kids. Her eyes lit up when Dean or I would read it to her at Christmas."

"Well, let's see if that's where she is." They opened the book cover and soon found themselves sucked into it's pages.

* * *

Grace looked around terrified, she was no longer in her home, she was outside, and in nothing but a very much, too larger for her frame, t-shirt. The cold was terrible; it snowed, and was quite dark, and evening- the evening before Christmas. In the cold and darkness she wandered along the street a (now) poor little girl, bareheaded, and with bare arms, legs and naked feet. People passed her by without so much as a glance at her, in a rush to get back to their families for dinner.

"I'm in the little match girl…Metatron…that son of a—"

She crept along trembling with cold and hunger-a very picture of sorrow.

The flakes of snow covered her long fair hair, which fell in beautiful curls around her neck; but she didn't care. She could see from all the windows the candles were gleaming, and it smelt so deliciously of roast goose. No one was going to help her, she had become the girl in the story, destined to freeze to death in the corner where two buildings met.

* * *

Castiel and Sam looked around the crowded city street for any sign of the tiny blonde with no luck.

"Does this story have a happy ending?" Same shook his head, "No, actually the little Match girl dies." This news made Castiel boil with Anger "We need to find her, Sam." They took off down the busy street.

"Excuse me, have you seen a girl, about—" The man just brushed past him, in a rush. Sam tried talking to a woman next who just shook her head.

"Everyone is just in a hurry to get home." Castiel frowned

"Let's keep trying, Cas." The two set off asking if anyone had seen Grace.

* * *

In a corner formed by two houses, of which one advanced more than the other, she seated herself down and cowered together. Her little feet she had drawn close up to her, but she grew colder and colder. She only had the brick wall to shield her, through which the wind whistled, even though the largest cracks were stopped up with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost numbed with cold.

"The little girl in the story at least had matches." She tucked her legs under her now damp shirt, hoping someone came for her soon, she didn't want to freeze to death.

"I could make the cold go away, Grace." She turned, looking up at Metatron who seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

"Why would I take help from you? You're the reason I'm going to die in here."

"All you have to do is say yes to going back to the garden. I can give you company there." She spit at him, "I don't want your company, Metatron. I want to be with my brother's, and Cas. I want to be at home."

"You don't belong on Earth, you know that, I know that. You belong in Heaven."

"I won't come with you. I belong with them." He frowned at her stubbornness. "Have it your way then." And he left her there, to freeze

* * *

.

"Miss, Please. I need to find her, she's my sister." The woman nodded, "Yes, I believe I did see her, poor little thing was in nothing but a baggy shirt, she wandered into an alley way, sometime back." Sam looked at the woman gratefully as he and Castiel hurried down the way she had pointed.

* * *

The cold had started to get to her, she shivered, pushing herself as far as she could into the corner, starting to hallucinate, she thought she saw John, he was standing just a few feet away, "Come here, Gracie." His arms were outstretched as he crouched down, the same way he did anytime he and her brothers would visit when she actually was a child. For a second she contemplated going to him, wanting one of his big warm hugs, but she stayed where she was.

The next person she saw was her mother, she had always smelled like flowers. "Gracie, come here baby girl."

"Momma…" she wanted to go to her, to feel the safety she had felt so long ago. She wanted to smell her mothers perfume. It was odd seeing the two of them next to one another.

"Grace!?" the voice she heard now was familiar, but distant.

Sam and Castiel stood in an alley way, a familiar mop of blonde hair peeked out from under a pile of snow, she was mumbling about her mother.

"Grace?!" this seemed to call her back to reality, but only somewhat as her dull blue eyes turned to look at him.

* * *

"Sam…my…" her mother and father disappeared from her vision as her eyes were dropping closed. She felt something warm and soft drape over her.

"Shh, Hey, you're alright, Gracie. Everything is gonna be okay, it's all going to be all right." His voice was gentle as he turned towards Castiel, who looked both angry and terrified. Sam brushed some snow out of her hair, picking her up out of the snow drift.

"I'm going to kill him." Castiel put a hand to Graces forehead, retracting it immediately, "She's burning up, we need to get her out of here. Metatron!" Castiel yelled at the sky.

"You always ruin my fun, Castiel." They heard the rustling of wings.

"This is not a game, you could have killed her."

"Then she would be where she belongs." He pushed, Sam's anger escalated.

"Grace is where she belongs! Now send us back and return her to normal, Metatron!" the angel scoffed, but with a snap of his fingers they were back in the condo, fire blazing.

"Fine, you get what you want this time, but I will return her to the garden."

"Now, return her to normal."

"Oh, the spell for that will wear off in a few days, then she'll be regular old, adult Grace, again." With that he was gone before Castiel could try and force more demands on. The brown-haired angel's eyes fell on the now sleeping child on the couch.

"This is going to be really hard to explain to Nora…."

"It might be, yeah. Why are you even still working at the Gas n' Sip? You have your Mojo back."

"I have to stay under the radar, there are still angels that want me dead…and, I don't want to put her in harms way." His eyes held affection as he looked at Grace.

"Well, I can tell she is happiest when you are around. She never smiled that way before all of this happened." He said motioning to a picture on the fireplace mantle.

"I have to head out, Cas, but don't hesitate to call me if you need any more help." With that Sam walked out the door, leaving Castiel alone with Grace.

* * *

The next day he woke, feeling weight on his chest, opening his eyes he stared into bright blue orbs.

"Good morning!" Castiel had insisted Grace sleep in the extra bedroom, at least until the spell wore off. Her blonde hair bounced as she jumped around the room, he groaned and sat up.

"Come on, Cas, it's CHRISTMAS!" she shouted, tugging on his arm. He gave into her, finding her childishness mildly contagious. She tugged him out to the living room to open gifts, his smile only grew as he watched her, hoping one day, they might have a little girl to watch do the same thing.

She bounced over to him with a brightly wrapped box and he took it in confusion.

"Merry Christmas, Cas!"

* * *

Once again Merry Christmas too all of you out there in reader land, I hope you enjoyed this, because my next special chapter won't be until valentines day, but you'll have lots of other chapter to read until that point, so no worries!


	16. Holy Terror

"Two of your people are here already." Sam and Dean walked further into the rickety establishment and looked around, eyes finally resting on Grace and Castiel.

"Ah, my colleagues." The old man they had been talking to walked away as they approached.

"Agents." Grace raised an eyebrow.

"Agent." Cas fired back with a half-smile, Dean looked unimpressed.

"Cas, what the hell are you doing?"

"Dean, he's only trying to help."

"And you, you let him do this?" Grace bristled, "Yes, he wants to help, we both do. Besides, he kept that badge you gave him. Might as well put it to use."

"Again, What the hell are you doing?"

"The murders were all over the news. Uh, I thought I might be of help."

"Yeah, but Cas, you know this is an angel situation, right? I mean, you left with Grace that night because angels were on your ass." Dean shifted uncomfortably, he knew the truth but had told neither Sam nor Castiel what was really going on, Grace frowned.

"Yeah, and you were living the life, you know? Early retirement, working up the Gas-n-Sip ladder, dating our sister." Sam's eyes widened, "Wait…when did that happen?"

Grace shifted uncomfortably now.

"Uh, surprise?" Sam scowled.

"If Angels are slaughtering one another, I have to do what I can to help. This is a risk we should be willing to take, don't you think? Hey. Cas is back in town." Grace and dean both gave him a look.

"Did you really just…"

"Seriously, did you—did he just say that?"

"I blame television…" She sighed, looking between her two brothers.

"God I miss you two."

"These angels, uh, they were butchered." Right back to business, Castiel pulled a small file from his jacket. "Much more violence than was required."

"Definitely took more than two killers to pull this off."

"Hit squad? Bartholomew's people?"

"Well, Bartholomew has a faction we know about, but this could be somebody else entirely. We don't know."

"Well, whoever it is…we'll find them." Grace watched him as he patted her brothers backs and walked away, the Winchester boys both shared a look,

" _We'll_ find them. That's great.

"Relax you two, he wants to help. It's better than sitting at our place and moping. He just wants to feel like he's useful again. Give him a break, please?" Dean frowned at his little sister as Sam shifted back to Ezekiel, giving them both a 'bitch' look.

* * *

"Good evening, Malachi"

"Where is he?"

"Bartholomew is quite busy tonight. With such a large following, well, the responsibilities are enormous."

"I called for a top-level summit. I don't deal with hand maidens."

"I'll convey your thoughts to Bartholomew. "

"He'll regret the disrespect."

"You speak of disrespect, Malachi? After the bloodbath two nights ago?"

"Bartholomew's naked grab for power was nothing but disrespect! He and I ultimately want the same thing. The only way we can take heaven back from Metatron is to unite. And if Bartholomew wants to avoid all-out warfare on earth, He'll meet personally with me to negotiate terms."

"I'm sorry. I should have mentioned earlier, Bartholomew said to tell you he doesn't negotiate with street thugs. Are we done here?"

"I know where it is." And without a second thought Malachi whipped two angel blades at Bartholomew's men, killing them instantaneously.

"Where what is?" the woman asked, watching as her associates fell.

"The flame of heaven." With that, Malachi charged again, killing Bartholomew's Messenger.

"And so it begins."

* * *

Several Hours later the four sat at a table in a crowded bar, each with a beer in hand. "It is so good being together again. You know, this is my first beer as a human. I hope it's okay, us joining you."

"Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"You know, cas, are you sure you're ready to jump back into all of this? I mean, it seemed to me like you actually found some peace." Graces face suddenly flushed pink, her mind wandering back to the other day in the bedroom of their home.

"Hey, you once told me that you don't choose what you do. It chooses you. Huh? I'm a part of this. Like it or not." He flashed a smile at Grace who's face just turned more red. Sam gave her a curious look but said nothing.

"All right, well, then, in that case, we have to figure out , uh, who we are up against., what do they want, and how do we stop them."

"Bartholomew wants to reverse Metatron's spell, presumably to—retake heaven once his following is large enough."

"According to April." Sam and Dean shared another look, "Look at you two, so in sync."

"Yes, well, we have spent much time together lately." Grace kicked Castiel's leg under the table, he scowled at her, "Ow…"

"April was Hot." Castiel sighed,

"So hot. And very nice." Grace scowled now as she kicked both Castiel and deans in the shin.

"Ow! You didn't let me finish, Grace. I was going to say she was nice, up to the point she started torturing me."

"Yeah. Well, not every hook-up's perfect." Grace stood, setting her beer on the table

"I'm going to get some air." Sam raised an eyebrow then looked between his sister and the ex-angel.

"All right, I'm gonna get us another round."

"Nah. I'll get it."

* * *

Sirens echoed in the distance as she walked down the sidewalk, she had no idea Ezekiel was behind her.

"Well, I'm really looking forward to this."

"Excuse me?" Ezekiel turned, coming face to face with Metatron, Grace frowned, drawing her gun.

"Oh, please. A gun's not going to hurt me, Grace. And you, I know who you really are, and it isn't Ezekiel." Grace's gun changed positions.

"What? What is he talking about?"

"Ah, ancient and yet still so naïve…Relax. I'm not here to out you. But I am curious, why Ezekiel?"

"They say he is a good and honorable angel." Grace lowered her gun.

"Ahh. Everything they say you are not. I see your point…Gadreel."

"The stories about me, they are not true."

"And yet you spent countless thousands of years locked in heavens darkest dungeon. And now you're hiding in this human posing as Ezekiel. Tragic. It broke his heart to lock you away, you know? You were god's most trusted. That's why he chose you to protect the garden. Your one task was to keep evil from entering…from befouling his cherished creation, mankind, and you failed him."

"Not my doing."

"Well, for whatever reason, the serpent entered. The earth is cursed with evil…and her…" He motioned to Grace, "She fell to earth, Lost to us Angels for millennia. Someone had to be blamed." He motioned to Gadreel.

"What is it you want of me, Metatron?" Metatron sighed, turning his head up to the night sky.

"Just to be your friend. You and I go back a long way. I was actually the one who freed you." Graces eyes widened.

"You? You made them fall? You took Castiel's grace from him?" Metatron smiled, chuckling at his own handy work.

"Yes, I caused all the angels to fall. Including the imprisoned ones. You're welcome."

"No angels are in heaven. None at all?"

"No, and you know, at first, I thought I would love it, but it's a big place. My solitude is getting tedious."

"And so?"

"And so…plan "B." rebuild heaven as the place god envisioned it, only with a handpicked few. No more anemic functionaries like Bartholomew. And no more stupid angels. Maybe some funny ones. And Her, she goes back into the garden, where she belongs." Grace frowned, it sounded like this angel was going to imprison her.

"And I get no say in this?" Metatron glanced back at her, looking past Gadreel

"Oh come now, The Garden would be paradise for a human like you. And you were never supposed to be on earth in the first place."

"I like it here, even if I am this sacred object to your people, my life is here, with my brothers, and Castiel."

"Castiel is an Angel, he was never supposed to be here anymore than you were." The blonde scowled.

"If Castiel had never come to earth, I'd have been lost to your kind for eternity. So stop feeding me your propaganda bullshit, Metatron."

"Ah, I suppose that is true, though not even I could have dreamed the flame would be incarnated as a human. In Ancient times you were just a sword, an object, glowing similarly to the earth's sun. you filled the garden with light, and gave Adam and Eve's line longevity, reincarnated generation after generation through Cain, after he killed Abel of course, right down to your brothers…and then along came an anomaly, you took human form. You chose to walk among these hairless apes, as a little girl named Grace Winchester."

"You're lying."

"Am I? Castiel has told you, you are our sacred flame, even angels looked towards your light in times of darkness. I can protect you, put you back where you belong, out of harm's way." She rolled her eyes.

"So, you'll lock me away in isolation for the rest of time? I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself." She left Gadreel outside the bar as she went to find Castiel and Dean.

* * *

"Okay. I'm…unfamiliar with this end of the process. 'course, no one may be listening, um, but I-I do need assistance." Grace watched as Castiel prayed, knowing his words fell on deaf ears.

"I have questions, and there seem to be no answers. I…I wouldn't presume to ask for help if I weren't desperate, but I need help. I'm lost. I need your guidance. Please hear my prayer."

"Castiel…" it hurt her to see him so desperate, he finally gave up and looked into her eyes.

"I don't know how you humans do it." she gave him a sympathetic look as she patted his shoulder before he tried to turn on the T.V.

"Try plugging it in." Her attention shifted to the door and she drew her gun, not willing to take risks after her run in with Metatron. Castiel headed for the door, opening it to reveal a woman in a state patrol uniform.

"Surely that wasn't the answer you were seeking."

"You're an angel."

"Muriel. I didn't pick the outfit. Grace, you can put away your weapon, I mean you no harm." The Blonde frowned putting her gun back in her holster. The angel finally looked up.

"Castiel?" she turned to leave.

"No, wait. Please, just hear me out."

"It can't be known that I even spoke to you."

"I just need a moment."

"No."

"Please. I just need information."

* * *

"Let's say you're telling the Truth and Metatron tricked you. I should still turn you in."

"But you won't" Grace watched the red head pace back and forth. "Don't be so sure."

"You won't, you'd risk having hunters on your ass." Castiel silenced her with a stare, she just shrugged in response.

"I…I think you instinctively trust me. We're similar, we both want no part of the fanatics."

"And when you prayed, How did you know you wouldn't get one of them?"

"I'm warded and my grace is gone and I was hoping that I would seem like just another desperate human that the…the militants couldn't care less about."

"And you think _I_ care?"

"You have to, you're here, aren't you?" Muriel stared at Grace.

"She's right. You're here. you may know the situation. Bartholomew , he's in a blood feud with another faction."

"It's madness."

"Who leads the opposition?"

"Malachi."

"Malachi?" Grace looked between Muriel and Castiel, curiously, "I…I know that name."

"The Anarchist?" He turned to Grace, "You know of Malachi?"

"Yes, I overheard something the other night, but I had no idea he was an Angel. It was these guys, they didn't know I was listening in." Castiel frowned "You were careless, what if they had spotted you?"

"But they didn't. and besides, if I am some incarnate of some ancient artifact, they wouldn't risk killing me, it could incur a much greater wrath." Muriel stared at her.

"Ancient artifact?" realization seemed to dawn on the woman, "You're the flame?" Grace just waved and Muriel shook her head, making sure to get back on track, planning on coming back to the subject eventually.

"Malachi, he's become equals with Bartholomew. In some ways, worse."

"But there's still those like you, who want to stay out of it."

"Fewer and fewer. Each side is rounding up those who try and stay neutral, angels are being tortured and killed if they don't pledge loyalty." Castiel sighed, looking over at Grace, she smiled sympathetically to comfort him.

"It's worse than I thought."

"Each side wants to crush the other, Overthrow Metatron, and rule heaven, and…heaven under either of them would be…"

"Hell." The door was shattered as two men entered.

* * *

He could hear her scream in the background, helpless to stop them. "This is a bonus, Castiel. We were tracking Muriel, cowardly hold out that she is, and wonder of wonders, she led us to you and your pretty little flame."

"Not, knowingly." Muriel muttered, slumped against the wall.

"I stand corrected. Not knowingly. Stupidly."

"I've explained in detail. I don't know how Metatron's spell worked. Therefore, I can't assist in reversing it, I was an unwitting accomplice. But Grace…She had nothing to do with this, let her go."

"Oh. she has nothing to do with this? That's sweet, trying to protect her, but she's a Key, Castiel, A key to breaking this spell." He grabbed a tool off the tray.

"Dupe or mastermind, you were inside the circle. You know where Metatron's weakness lies, if we can use her to get to it, you can be damn well sure we'll do it." Castiel shook his head, the thought of them abusing Grace, powerful or otherwise, terrified him.

"No. I don't know his weakness. Please, just don't hurt her." Malachi frowned, sighing as he looked to his companion.

"Theo."

"No." he dragged his angel blade down Castiel's collar bone, worsening the pain he already felt, Muriel rested her head against the wall in defeat, both able to hear the agonizing screams of Grace in the background.

"You'd suffer, even die for your beliefs, you'd die…for her, a relic? I get it, but is Metatron, who's poll numbers have totally tanked, …worth your life? More importantly…is Metatron worth their lives?" Castiel knew he was talking about Grace as well as Muriel.

"No. No, they're innocent. You leave them alone."

"I have no intentions of touching Muriel. Your pretty little girlfriend on the other hand…" He looked to Theo again who stepped forward, "Virtue is it's own punishment.

"Please, No!" without a second thought Theo ran Muriel through with his angel blade.

"NO!" Muriel fell to the side, dead as Castiel raised his head once more to looked at Malachi.

"Angels butchering angels. Is this what we've become?"

"Just following your example, Castiel. How many did you kill in heaven? How many in the fall? Oh, you didn't know? A host of angels died when they fell—Azrael, Sophia, Ezekiel. "Died' doesn't even begin to describe it. Devastation. Wings shredded, unspeakable agony at your hands. So, I think you would want to provide any information you have, considering…" Castiel remained silent, last he had heard Ezekiel was healing Sam, but if he was dead, then who was it really? Another horrifying scream from another room brought Cas back from his thoughts.

"All right. I leave you in the hands of an artist." Castiel looked at Theo, "Maybe I'll go pay the little bitch a visit. I don't care what's left." With that the anarchist was gone.

"Don't ask for mercy. There is none."

* * *

The door to where they had been holding her was suddenly blasted off it's hinges, "Grace." She flinched away from whoever it was, despite having some recognition of the persons voice.

"Grace, you're alright. I'm here now." She finally saw it was Castiel as the blindfold was lifted. She'd have hugged him if she weren't shackled down.

"C-Cas…" she sniffed, one of her eyes was swollen shut and she had innumerable cuts on her face, arms and legs.

"Oh, Grace…what did they do to you?" he gingerly touched one of the cuts, just above her eye.

"I…" he silenced her, "Shh, it's alright. It's alright, I'm here." he unlocked the shackles and she fell, he caught her, flying them out of the hideout.

* * *

"Hello?"

" _Dean, I don't have a lot of time, so listen. The leader of the opposition is an Angel named Malachi."_

"And how do you know that?"

" _He had Grace and I. we, uh, he tortured us. But we got away."_ Dean's expression shifted to worry as Castiel explained.

"How?"

" _I…I did what I had to. I became what they've become. A barbarian."_

"Is Grace alright?"

" _Yes, She is fine. I left her back in the motel room. She's sleeping."_

"You left her alone? Where are you?"

" _It's better this way, they're gonna want me even more now. But I'm gonna be all right. I…got my grace back. Well, not mine per se, but it'll do."_

"Wait, you're—You're back? you got your mojo?"

" _I'm not sure. But I am an angel."_

"And you're okay with that?"

" _If we're going to war, I need to be ready."_

"Cas."

" _Dean. There's more."_

"What?"

" _Didn't you say Sam was healed by an angel named Ezekiel?"_

"Uh…yeah, why?"

" _Ezekiel is dead."_

"What?"

" _He died when the angels fell."_ Dean froze,

"Thanks for the info, Cas. You make sure Grace stays safe. You promise me you won't let anything happen to her."

" _I promise, Dean. I'll protect her with my life."_

"I'm holding you to that, Cas." With that the eldest Winchester hung up.

* * *

 _She was back in the bunker, she could see both Sam and Kevin. She tried to talk but nothing came out._

" _Hey Sam" Sam stopped in the doorway, "hey, do you notice anything a lite bit off about Dean lately? Between you and me, I'm a little bit worried about him." Grace caught the look in Sam's eyes and realized it wasn't him, she tried to tell Kevin to run but once again no sound came out when she tried to scream._

" _Don't worry about Dean. Dean will be fine" it had been Gadreel, he suddenly placed his hand t Kevin's head and in a flash of light, the prophet was dead."_

"NO!" She shot up in bed, cold sweat dripping down her skin, Castiel turned, startled at her sudden awakening.

"Grace! Grace, what's wrong?"

"Kev…It's Kevin…He's dead. Gadreel, He Killed him."

* * *

And END of chapter 15. I think this story is coming along nicely. PLEASE, let me know your thoughts and things you'd like to see more of. I love hearing from all of you. I have been toying with the idea of writing a side story of the apocalypse AU, let me know if you guys would like to see this.


	17. Road Trip

"Dean!" Dean looked up from packing his bag, seeing Grace and Castiel, he let a small smile through as his sister came to hug him.

"Hey, Gracie." He held her tight, kissing her head afraid if he let go she'd vanish, Glancing back up at Castiel he gave a slight nod. "Cas. Now, look at you, all suited up and back in the game.

"I, Um…I cam as soon as you Called. I wa—" The angel looked around, seeing how trashed the room was as Dean finally let go of Grace who moved to stand off to the side.

"Dean, what happened? What's wrong?"

"Is it because of Kevin?" Dean turned to look at her, "You know? How?" Dean's voice was terse, Grace flinched away from him, "I, Uh…I had this dream…about Kevin, and Gadreel…" his anger only intensified as he stared her down, she moved to hide behind Castiel.

* * *

"Sammy was Dying. What was I supposed to do?"

"You let an angel possess him?"

"It's more complicated than that, Cas. He said it was the only way, and we both believed him."

"Now Sam's gone. Kevin's…"

"I'm sorry. "

"Yeah, well…Sorry don't pay the bills, does it? It sure as hell ain't gonna bring Kevin back. We gotta find that son of a bitch" Grace watched her older brother warily.

"Dean…"

"That Angel is a Dead man walking."

"What, you're gonna destroy him?"

"Damn right." Grace leaned back in her chair

"Dean, if you kill an angel, it's vessel dies, too. That means you'd be killing Sam…" Dean turned on her and she instantly shut up.

"You think I don't know that?!" he snapped bac at her, Castiel frowned, "Don't scream at her, she's only trying to help, Dean."

"If I don't end Sam and that halo burns him out and I…God, I was so damn stupid."

"You were stupid for the right reasons." Castiel tried his best to comfort his friend,

"We both were…you agreed to it, Dean, but Me…I was the one who tricked him, I let Gadreel use me…" Castiel looked both surprised and angry with this new news, she knew they'd be talking about this later.

"Yeah, like that matters."

"It does. Sometimes that's all that matters. Listen to me. Sam is strong. If he knew an angel was possessing him, he could fight."

"He could cast the Gadreel out?" there was a hopefulness in the young Winchesters eyes, 'Maybe. But as far as I know, he's in the dark. I don't know how we clue him in."

"Do you remember Alfie?"

"That kid angel? Yeah. Why?"

"Before he died, he told me the demons were able to dig into his mind, access his coding. We might be able to do that here. Might be able to—to bypass the angel and talk directly to Sam."

"And you think that would work?"

"It's worth a shot, this bastard killed Kevin." Both Dean and Castiel glanced at Grace who's fists were clenched, "Uh, okay. Um, where do we start?"

* * *

"Hello, Boys…and girl? I don't believe we are acquainted, Name's Crowley." Grace raised an eyebrow at the demon, she'd heard of him through conversations between Sam, Dean and Castiel but she'd never met the man…er, demon.

"Yeah, I know who you are, I guess I just expected more…Charles Manson, and a little less High school principal." Dean raised an eyebrow at his sister's comment, Crowley seemed intrigued.

"Flattery. I like your sister, Squirrel. You know, Charles Manson would have been a much better Vessel, I have to agree."

"Grace, if you're done fraternizing with the enemy…" She slapped him, "Ow!"

"I was not flirting, I was making an observation, asshole."

"Could have fooled me, Charles Manson is an Idol of mine, he has such a creative mind. Worming his way into people heads so they'd kill for him…" Castiel cleared his throat.

"Here's the deal—you're gonna tell us how to hack an angel, and I'm gonna give you some of the good stuff. Human blood, fresh from the tap. Word is you're jonesing for it."

"Please. I'll pass."

"What do you want, then?"

"Well, for starters…A massage. Between the sitting and the shackles, A body gets a little stiff."

"Yeah, no. I'm not rubbing you." Crowley's eyes trailed to Grace, "God, no. From her." He nodded towards the petite blonde, Castiel stepped in front of her, the protective gesture did not go unnoticed by the demon.

"Oh, someone's found a new plaything, have they? Tell me, have you two done…" he whistled, signifying he was talking about Sex. Both of them flushed.

"None of your business."

"Ooh, touchy. But back to business. I can't teach you to crack open an angel. It's more …art than science. But I can do it for you. All I ask in return is a little field trip. Dying for some fresh air. Chains on, naturally."

"No."

"No? Of course not. Because if I'm plan "A," I'm sure you have a totally viable, much better plan "B."" Dean sighed, he turned away, uncertain of what to do. If there was even a fraction of a chance that they could save Sam, he had to take it.

"Dean?"

"You can't be considering this."

"With the chains on, he can't do anything."

"It's Crowley. He can always do something."

"Looks like we need a tie breaker. How about it sweetheart?" All eyes landed on Grace, she looked confused for a moment, "No. No way, you can't leave something like this up to me."

"Come on, Sweetheart. Do we have a deal?" Grace looked between Dean and Castiel, uncertain of what she should say, Castiel gave her a small nod and she sighed, turning to face the demon.

"Yeah."

"Excellent. When do we leave?"

"Soon as we can scrounge up a ride."

"Grace and I…have a vehicle. It stopped a few miles from here, inexplicably." That was an understatement, and to make matters worse, Cas had made Grace drive, being human had rubbed off on the angel.

* * *

"Really? What are you, a pimp?"

"I said the same thing…" Grace noticed one of the women who lived in the neighborhood staring at her and hid her face.

"I like it." Dean reached in turning the key in the ignition, "Yeah, it's out of gas."

"Riddle me this, boy wonder. Why do you need the wheels?" Castiel seemed contemplative, and Grace just watched him as e arrowed his eyes at the question.

"When you betray us, I'll be the one to carve out your heart."

"Oh, cas, such a flirt." Grace sighed at the exchange, "Actually, Crowley…He's not kidding. He'll actually do it. you should see what he did to Theo at Malachi's place."

"They had you held prisoner, plus…Theo was what you call a brown noser, he was trying to use me to get to Metatron, hoping to be let back into heaven." Dean listened in on their conversation with irritation.

"You were tortured by angels?"

"Long story, one we don't have time for right now, we have to find Sam."

"All right. Let's go."

"Shot gun."

"Uh, wrong. You're in the back. Grace, you too. Keep an eye on him." Castiel opened the door, getting into the front seat as Grace shared a look with Crowley.

"Don't even think about it." He raised an eyebrow at the younger Winchester as he climbed into the back seat, "You touch her, I'll do more than carve out your heart."

"Touchy, I'm not interested in the little mouse." Dean looked in the rearview mirror as he heard grace slap the demon, "I'm not a mouse, you rat."

"Feisty. I like it." She could almost feel the tension Cas and Dean let off from the front of the car.

* * *

"Your source is in here?"

"And she can track anything you need, even our little lost Samantha."

"How?" Grace shifted, she was very clearly uncomfortable, "It feels…horrible here."

"This place isn't really…this. It's a front for an N.S.A. listening post."

"What are they listening for?"

"Everything. The U.S. Government is quite the voyeur these days. So I panted one of my best and let her go to work."

"Looking for terrorists?"

"Looking for marks, slow boat."

"Uh, Just Mr. Crowley."

"I'll be listening to every word you say"

"Promise?"

* * *

"Hear anything?"

"No. the room Crowley's in has been warded."

"Awesome. That's friggin' awesome." The angel frowned at the eldest Winchester, Grace shifted uncomfortably.

"Why are you so tense?" Dean gave her a questioning stare. "Well, all things considered, I'm in a building chock full of demons, not to mention just the other day I was tortured by an angel gone rogue. So forgive me for being tense." She looked up as Crowley returned.

"Your phallus on wheels just ran a red light in Somerset, Pennsylvania, ten minutes ago. Let's go." Grace stopped Castiel before he could follow.

"Cas…something feels off. I don't trust Crowley." The angel looked out the window to see Dean who was watching him expectantly.

"I don't trust him either, but right now, we have no choice."

* * *

"Stay In the car." Grace flashed Dean a nasty look, "I can help, Dean."

"Yes, by watching Crowley." The blonde looked at the demon who rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, it's like you don't trust me."

"That's an understatement. Who's ever heard of a trustworthy demon?"

"Touché. The little mouse is smart." Grace and Castiel both growled, "I am not a mouse. Call me that again and see what happens."

"Oooh, I like a woman who knows what she wants." She narrowed her eyes and without a second thought, sucker punched him.

"I want you to shut up, Crowley." Dean raised an eyebrow at his sister, "Okay…you heard the lady." She could see a smirk tugging at Castiel's lips but he was trying to remain stoic. Dean headed for the house.

"Castiel." The angel turned, "You'll keep him safe, right?"

"Of course."

* * *

*Back at the bunker.*

"Welcome to the Party, pal. Cas, how we looking?"

"Most of Sam's internal burns have healed. I should be able to fix the rest." Grace frowned, she wanted nothing more than to pluck the remaining feathers from this fallen angels wings.

"I thought I knew every angel in heaven, but I've never seen you."

"Why would I tell you anything?" Grace let out an almost animalistic growl as she stepped towards the angel.

"I don't give a crap about what happens to you, but you're wearing my older brother as your meat suit, and you need to get out—now!" Castiel rested a firm hand on her shoulder, she only relaxed slightly at his touch, Gadreel stared back defiantly.

"And if I don't?"

"Then you and Crowley get to have a little play date"

"Even bound, I can rip this body apart. Tell them Castiel."

"You do, you die. Grace and I will make sure of it."

"You want this to end? Go ahead. Put a blade through your brothers heart. If it makes you feel better, I have Sam locked away in a dream. As far as he knows, the three of you are working a case right now—something with ghouls and cheerleaders." The angel seemed pleased with his idea of the jobs he thought the siblings worked, "And Grace, she is—" another growl was heard from the tiny blonde.

"You keep me out of your sick fantasies!"

"Why are you doing this, huh? We fought together and I trusted you. I thought you were one of the good guys!"

"I am doing what I have to do. And soon Grace will be returned to where she belongs."

"What is he talking about?" Dean turned to look at Grace an Castiel, "I can't tell you with Crowley listening, so while he has his fun with Gadreel, we can talk, away from listening ears." Dean frowned but nodded as Crowley set to work.

* * *

"So, you're some kind of ancient heavenly…thing."

"She's the incarnation of an item lost to us for millennia. Trust me, I was just as surprised as you are."

"And neither of you thought to call and tell me about this?"

"The flame is…it's like our version of your Holy Grail. The flame was an object that kept Adam and Eve's lines going, even after the serpent entered the garden, Cain and Abel were born, and though Cain Killed Abel, Cain's line continued on. but something happened. There are many variations of the story throughout heaven, one is that the flame became so sad at how the first line of humans turned out that it fell to earth, to walk among them. There is another that depicts the Flame being stolen by Lucifer, who was taken with it's beauty when he saw it in the garden. He apparently became so jealous that god had locked something so amazing away that he took it and that's how the flames of hell rumor began."

"And you think, that this…flame? Is my sister?"

"I don't think Dean, I know. If you could see her soul, it's not entirely human…it's almost like it's…angelic."

"But she's not an angel, Cas. She's a human."

"That's what I thought too…until recently.

* * *

"Pin heads out cold, but watch this." Crowley pinched two of the pins and the unconscious sam spoke,

"Zir noco Iad Gadreel. Zir Noco Iad Gadreel."

" what is he saying?"

"His name. Gadreel." Grace had translated pretty easily and beaten Castiel to the punch.

"Does that mean anything to either of you?"

"Well, I've never seen him—"

"God locked him in the dungeons after he let lucifer into the garden of Eden, he was marked untrustworthy. Supposedly he is also the reason I'm even here." Castiel nodded in agreement.

"I see you really have gotten good with Enochian." Grace just smiled back

"My, My. A celebrity."

"Wait, wait, wait, the garden of eden? You were some object from biblical times?"

"your sisters…soul…is as old as time itself. It's his fault—all of it. The corruption of man, demons, hell…you even having a sister. God left because of him. The arch angels—the apocalypse. If he hadn't been so weak, none of it would have happened" He stormed up to the passed out angel. "You ruined the universe, you damn son of a bitch!"

"Cas! Cas! hey!" Grace stayed out of his way, letting dean handle the situation, "Dean, He…"

"Hey, I get it but you gotta chill" Castiel shoved Dean's hands off him and walked off, Grace followed him to make sure he didn't do anything brash.

* * *

Crowley called the two back in when Gadreel woke up once more. "It won't work. You will never find your brother. Go ahead. poke and prod. I can sit in this chair for years and watch you fail over and over again. I've endured much worse than this, Dean. So…much…worse. And I have all the time in the world."

"Shut up!" Gadreel straightened himself in the chair "All right. Plan "B" Cas, you gotta possess him."

"What?" the angle looked at Dean like he was insane. "Do it now! Get in there, tell Sam what's going on and help him kick that lying son of a bitch out!"

"It might work. But I can't possess vessels without permission." Crowley cleared his throat, Grace raised an eyebrow at the cross roads demon.

"No. not happening."

"Don't be daft. Demons can take what they want. I can burrow into that rats nest of a head. I can wake Sam up. Just call me plan "C" "

"You can't—"

"You got a better idea?" Castiel's eye drifted to Grace.

"What? Me? You're off your damn rocker, I haven't got any abilities like you or Nanny McPhee over there. I'd need instruction, good instruction, and YEARS of practice to even attempt to pull that off."

"I trust you a whole hell of a lot more than I trust Crowley; besides, he'll listen to you, Grace. Please?" she hated that damn look, he was really good at guild tripping.

"Fine…what do I need to do?"

* * *

Grace took the chair across from Sam's body, staring directly at Gadreel. "Possession is almost like astral projection, you need to imagine your soul leaving your body and direct it from there."

"Got it. And Dean, if you draw anything on my face while I'm gone. I will stab you."

Gadreel leaned forwards towards Grace, attempting to be threatening, "I will destroy you." Castiel forced him back roughly as a warning. She closed her eyes and focused on transferring her soul to Sam's body, Dean and Castiel watched a gold stream of light flowed out of her and into Gadreel.

"That is unusual, it's gold."

"why is it unusual?" Castiel looked at Dean, "Human souls are like electricity, and an angel's grace is the color of the stars you see here on earth, but Grace…her soul is Gold, that is unusual. Dean, if this doesn't work."

"It'll work. She'll convince him."

"I mean, it just doesn't make any sense. Why's this ghoul on chomping on dead cheerleaders?"

"Hey, you want a beer?!" she could Hear dean from the kitchen.

"No, I'm fine."

"Yeah, beer is high in carbs anyways, don't want a beer belly, do we Sammy?" Sam stood up quickly, he was alarmed, "Dean? Dean!"

"Sam, we don't have time for this. Poughkeepsie."

"Why are you saying that? And how are you here? I saw them Kill you."

"Kill me? Sam none of this is real. Dean sent me, The real Dean. I have to make this quick—you've been possessed by an angel. He has you packed away here, in the bunker. And I'm here to break you out." Sam looked confused and uncertain

"Seriously?" she sighed, "Dammit, Sam…don't make this hard." She grabbed deans gun off the table and aimed before shooting right at his chest, there was no wound.

"See? Not real. Like I said."

"You shot me?"

"Well, you called me a liar."

"How are you even here? Last I checked you weren't capable of possession."

"Well things change. An Angel hijacked you…he…" the words seemed to freeze her solid, "He used you to kill Kevin. Even if you can't remember, you've seen everything that he's done. So what I need you to do is remember." a look of pain flashed across his face.

"I killed Kevin?"

"No, you didn't. Gadreel did. You need to take control, Sammy. Push him out, cast that punk ass holy roller out!" Sam looked behind his sister, seeing someone.

"He's…right behind me, isn't he?"

"Hello, Sam. Grace." He muttered her name with heavy disdain.

"Who are you?"

"He's Gadreel, liked to us when you were in the hospital, was using a dead angel as an alias to fly under the radar."

"Well, I was under the radar, until you showed up. And Now, I'm going to kill you and be the one who leads my kind back to heaven. I'm going to be a hero. And you, flame, are going to spend a very lonely eternity in a dead garden. You should be running." Grace merely frowned at him, even Sam knew never to talk to her that way, last time he had, she had put hair dye in his shampoo bottle and itching powder in his bed. Grace just smiled at him for a second before reeling her fist back and letting the fallen angel have it.

Gadreel turned back around to face her and she suddenly went flying, he advanced on the blonde and got ready to stomp her, delivering a few solid kicks to her ribs before Sam jumped in.

"That's my sister you're pounding on." Gadreel threw Sam off of him "Give up, boy. You're not strong enough." He delivered a kick right to Gadreel's nose, knocking the angel back.

"Take control, Sam! Cast him out!"

"Get out of my—"

"You sure you want me to go? Maybe I'm the only thing holding you together. I leave, you might die." Gadreel pinned him by the neck, trying to make sure he stayed, Sam reached for something, but grace couldn't see what it was, Sam managed to get back to his feet and pin Gadreel down with his foot.

"I said get…the hell…out!"

* * *

There was suddenly a bright flash of light as Gadreel exited Sam's body, followed by the steady gold stream of Grace as her soul drifted back to her own body. She slumped forward, clearly exhausted.

"Sam! Grace! Cas?"

"Are you two okay?" Castiel pulled the probing pins from Sam's skull before turning to Grace, "You did it. Well done." The angel gave her a small smile, looking relieved.

"Sam, are you okay?" Sam looked up. "Cas?"

"Stay here." Castiel took off upstairs when everyone say some headlights through the frosted windows. Peering through the glass, he saw the last person they needed right now.

"It's Abbadon." Dean looked at Crowley now.

"Go. The Back door. I'll handle this." Dean looked at him in confusion, "Oh, because you're such a good guy?"

"Right now, I'm the goodest guy you got." Cas helped both Sam and Grace onto their feet, Dean gave Crowley a sharp look "This don't make us square, I see you again—"

"I'm dead yes, I know. I love you, too." They ran out the back door as Crowley shouted something they couldn't hear.

Dean pulled to a stop along side a river, at some point grace had fallen asleep, Dean smiled down at her. "You did good, Kid. You did good." Cas and Sam climbed out of the vehicle where the angel healed the younger brother.

"You feel better?" Castiel pulled his hand away from Sam's face, looking concerned.

"A little, yeah."

"It'll take time to fully heal you. We'll have to do it in stages." Dean finally approached, "All right, let me hear it."

"What do you want me to say—that I'm pissed? Okay. I am. I'm pissed. You lied to me. Again."

"I didn't have a choice" he omitted from the record that Grace had helped in the decision, considering what she'd just gone through she deserved a break. Sam just scoffed at his older brother.

"I was ready to die, Dean."

"I know. But I wouldn't let you, because that's not in me."

"So, what? You decided to trick me into being possessed by some…psycho angel, who, at the time, looked like grace? You knew how hard that would be, to tell her no, Dean. Is that why you did it?"

"He saved your life."

"So what? He used her to do it. I was willing to die. And now…Kevin."

"No, that is not on you. Kevin's blood is on my hands, and that ain't ever getting clean. I'll burn for that. I will. But I'll find Gadreel and I will end that son of a bitch. But I'll do it alone."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, man. Can't you see? I'm…I'm poison, Sam. For you and for her. People get close to me, they get killed…or worse. You know, I tell myself that I-I—I help more people than I hurt and I tell myself that I'm – I'm doing it all for the right reasons, and I—I believe that. But I can't – I won't…drag anybody through the muck with me. Not anymore. That's why…" He turned to Castiel now,

"I need you to take care of her, I can't anymore. She'll only get hurt with me." Castiel nodded following Dean to the car.

* * *

"Promise me—Promise me that you'll keep her safe, Cas."

"You have my word, Dean." Castiel hoisted the sleeping girl out of the car as Dean started the engine, driving away.

* * *

Chapter 16 everyone, I hope you enjoyed it.


	18. First Born

Days Passed and Grace had showed no signs of waking, he wasn't sure what to do so he'd gone to work as usual, keeping up appearance until such a time that they could leave this false life behind, not that he minded the story they had spread, or that he minded sharing a home with the youngest of the Winchester siblings, in fact, he quite enjoyed it.

Sitting on the edge of the bed he stared down at her serene features, he reached over, cautiously moving a few strands of hair from her face, startled when she'd suddenly muttered his name in her sleep, it was not uncommon for the blonde to sleep talk, but it did catch him off guard that she was dreaming of him.

"I'm right here." Suddenly her eyes fluttered open, "Cas?" he stayed silent, just watching her.

"Where are we?"

"We're at home."

"Home? Where are Sam and Dean?" he didn't have the heart to tell her what had transpired on the bridge almost a week ago, about Dean leaving for their own good, and Sam as well.

"After you dealt with Gadreel, I brought you home. Sam and Dean are out on a job." He lied, averting his eyes, Grace caught onto this but left it alone.

"Thank you." He looked back at her in surprise. "For what? I've done nothing to—"

"You watched over me. You're like my own guardian angel." He wasn't sure if he should smile at the idea or laugh.

"You need a shave, sir." He quirked an eyebrow at her, "Do I?" she just nodded, much like a child, the look in her eyes though said something much different.

"Are you certain? Because I think that you like me this way." Now she raised an eyebrow, and there was evidence of a smirk tugging on the Angel's lips.

"What if I did?" he let out a low growl at her reply, Grace just smirked, teasing him was fun, it always yielded different results. Castiel went to push her back down into the bed when her hand reached out brushing the feather of his wings, an odd sensation to be sure.

"You can see my wings?"

"I guess I can. Is that weird?" He shook his head, "No, it's…interesting. Mortals usually can't see them, but I guess given the circumstances, you're not exactly human."

"Gee, just what every girl wants to hear, Cas." She teased, he smirked, certainly uncharacteristic for him, "Well, I happen to know, that you're not like every girl." She raised an eyebrow at his sudden forwardness, "What's gotten into you?" she felt his lips on her skin and shuddered.

"Just marking what is mine." He muttered, nipping at the soft spot between her neck and shoulder, she could feel the stubble on his face brush against her skin, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. As he trailed his lips down to her collar bone she gingerly touched his wings again, trying to be gentle, Castiel on the other hand, purred.

"Did you just…purr?" brilliant blue eyes stared down at her, "It felt good." Grace smirked at him, softly stroking the feathers again, he let out a low growl this time.

"Did I do something wrong?" he said nothing as he silenced her, placing a rough kiss on her lips.

"No." Grace giggled, the intimate moment officially ruined, "You purred, like a cat." Castiel stared down at her, rolling onto the other side of the bed.

"I do not purr."

"Yes you do! You totally purr." She reached over, stroking his wing to prove her point, he let out another soft purring like noise, he apparently heard it this time because he blushed.

"That…proves nothing."

"Aww, you're like a cat, that's so cute." She teased, he growled at her.

"Aww, did I hit a nerve?" now he sat, facing away from her, yup, just like a cat.

"I didn't mean to tease you, Cas. I'm sorry."

"We have to go." Her head spun at the sudden attitude change but she shrugged, "Sure, just let me get dressed."

"What's wrong with what you're wearing?"

"Cas…these clothes are filthy…"

* * *

They now sat in the bunker, Cas had made a PBJ sandwich, and Grace stared at him like he had two heads as he ate it, face contorted in an unusual manner. The front door opened, then closed.

"Hey."

"Sam, he's freaking me out…"

"Tastes like…molecules."

"What?" Sam and Grace asked in Sync, turning to look at each other afterwards.

"What are you talking about?"

"When I was human, you know, I had to eat constantly. It was kind of annoying." Grace flashed him a look, mildly offended now since she had to cook a lot of the meals, Cas caught her look and looked mildly afraid of what she might say.

"yeah, a lot of human things are pretty annoying."

"But…I enjoyed the taste of food—" He was trying to save his feathery ass now, and Grace knew it, "Particularly peanut butter with Grape jelly, not jam. Jam I found unsettling."

"So, what? Now you can't taste PB and J?"

"No, I-I taste every molecule"

"Not the sum of it's parts, huh?" Grace smirked at the Angel.

"It's overwhelming" Sam scoffed and Grace just rolled her eyes, propping her feet up on the table now. "It's disgusting. I miss you PB and J."

"It means less cooking for me to do in the future." Sam had almost forgotten she was even there as Cas pushed himself out from the table.

"We need to continue your healing." Sam cleared his throat as Castiel reached out towards her older brother's forehead.

"We're almost done." As he touched Sam, he stopped for a moment.

"What?"

"Nothing." Grace caught the lie he tried to hide, Sam pushed his arm down.

"You've always been a bad Liar, Cas."

"That is not true. I once deceived and betrayed both you and your brother, not to mention…" He stopped himself, and Grace raised an eyebrow.

"Not to mention what, Castiel?" the angel looked like a deer caught in headlights, "Nothing." Now he wanted to do nothing but hide, "You can run, for now, Castiel, but I will drag it out of you sooner or later." Her eyes were narrowed and she looked like a cat on a hunt, Sam knew that look all too well, he had once lied to her when she was little and woken up the next morning with only half a head of hair and his clothes soaking wet in the upstairs bathroom of her mother's house.

"Okay…Cas, what's wrong?"

"I noticed something. It's, uh…resonating inside you."

"What?"

"Something Angelic. It's like Grace, but also, very different."

"Like me, How so?"

"Yeah. What the hell does that mean?"

"Maybe we should call Dean." This made Sam uncomfortable and he stood, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"No. He wanted to go, and he's gone. We'll handle this."

* * *

"I've found something. It's a detail about when angels leave their vessels…I think. It's, uh, Enochian, which can be a bit flowery." Grace barely glanced up from the book she was reading, as Sam leaned over one of the stacks.

"And the departed shall remain, and the remains shall be the departed."

"Okay, so, when an angel leaves a vessel, they leave behind a piece of themselves. Like, uh…like an angelic fingerprint."

"Whatever you want to call it, this piece of the departed contains Grace."

"Wait, you're saying there's angelic grace inside of me?"

"Yes. But it's fading each time I heal you." Castiel closed the book he had been reading

"Okay. Is that good or bad?"

"Well, it's harmless. But the grace itself…might be helpful." Both Sam and Grace watched as he shuffled through some Papers, the blonde set her book down, seeing as they'd found the answers they needed.

"According to this, we may be able to use the grace that remains inside you to track Gadreel…if we can extract it."

"How would we do that?" Grace already did not like where this was going, the second she saw Castiel's shifty eyes.

"Cas?"

"Well…it will be painful. The men of letters believed that you could perform a tracking spell with extracted grace, but they were never able to test their theory."

"Well, they didn't have a guinea pig, but we do." It made her anger that her brother just willingly volunteered himself for these things, she slammed her hands down on the table, snapping their attention to her.

"Sam, No. if there were any other way, I'd say yes in a heartbeat, but this, this is stupid, you're always willing to be a martyr for the cause." Sam narrowed his eyes at his younger sister,

"You don't have to like that I'm doing this, Grace. But I'm not letting you get in the way. I'll put you on lock down if I have to." There was an edge to his voice and she knew to keep her mouth shut now.

* * *

"Sam, May I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"Can I ask you another question?" Grace stared up at them as they descended the stairs…again.

"Well, technically, you—yeah, go ahead. What's up?"

"Sam, The trials. You chose not to go through with them for a reason, didn't you? You chose to live rather than sacrifice yourself. You and Dean…chose each other." Grace coughed from where she was sitting, Sam could have swore he heard the word 'incest'.

"What?" she whistled innocently, "Nothing…" her reply was innocent and she flashed him the puppy dog stare, rolling his eyes he turned back to Castiel.

"Yeah, I did. We did. And then…Dean made a choice for me"

"Technically, we both made the decision. It was the only way to save you, Sam." Sam turned to look at her again, "I don't blame you nearly as much as I blame him."

"What Dean did—"

"It doesn't matter what Dean did…what Either of them did. Look, I could have put a stop to all this, Cas. I could of closed the gates to hell."

"Oh, Sam."

"Dean's gone, okay? Only reason Grace is still here is because you two are a thing. This is on me now, and if I can find Gadreel…I can fix this. Now…being a human means settling your debts. Let's start balancing the books."

"I'm going to go anywhere but here…needles freak me out." She watched as Sam laid back in the chair after handing Castiel the syringe.

* * *

"Grace, I know you're still over there." Blue eyes peered around the corner, "Sorry, I get squeamish around needles, punched a nurse once." Castiel turned back to face Sam.

"Sam, I want Gadreel to pay as much as either of you do. But nothing is worth losing you. You know, being human, it didn't just change my view of food. It changed my view of you. I mean, I can relate now to how you feel."

"What are you talking about?" Grace finally took a seat on a tall stool, watching the two of them as they spoke.

"The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you…is me. And now I know what that guilt feels like. And I know what it…I know what it means to feel sorry, Sam. I am sorry." The Angel's eyes drifted over to the small blonde now perched in the corner, she just gave him a half smile, it appeared to her that Humanity had really changed him.

"I know."

"You know, old me—I would've just kept going. I would've jammed that needle in deeper until you died because the ends always justified the means. But what I went through—and not just with Grace, That PB and J taught me that angels can change, so…who knows. Maybe Winchesters can, too." Grace just smiled at Castiel as he walked back to the main room, leaving the siblings alone.

"Sam?" hazel eyes turned to meet Blue, "For the record, I know I was selfish, but I'd already lost you and Dean once…I couldn't do it again…" she stood in front of him now.

"I'm not angry, Grace. I just needed time."

"I know, Sam. But…if I could take all of it back, letting him use me to trick you…"

"Hey. Don't beat yourself up, you were only trying to help. And Yeah, it was stupid, really stupid, but your heart was in the right place." Her eyes suddenly glossed over, Sam noticed and called for Castiel.

"Cas?!"

"I can see him…" Sam held her steady, noticing she looked ready to fall over.

"Him, Who? Who do you see, Grace?" Castiel came back into the room.

"It's Cain…"

"Cain? Who's Cain?" he looked both confused and terrified, "Cas, what's going on?"

"I…I don't know, this is unusual." Upon closer inspection both saw that her eyes had changed from blue to almost gold.

* * *

Suddenly she was somewhere else, looking around all she saw was a man and a tombstone, she moved closer, her blonde hair seeming to float behind her as she walked forward.

"I've tried, Colette, to see myself as you did. But I know who I am—what I am. I know you watch over me still. But I need you to look away now."

"Why do you need her to look away?" Cain glanced up at her after kissing his ex-lovers grave, "Who are you?"

"Who am I? I am many things to many people, Cain. A sword for the Angel's, A light for humanity, I am a source of hope…I knew you when you were just a boy, playing with Abel in the garden of Eden."

"You were there?"

"Of course. I watched you grow from a baby into a strong young man, Cain. Though I had no physical body then. You and your brother had such wonderful imaginations." Grace smiled as she came to sit in front of him.

"How is he? My brother?" she just smiled again "Last I knew Abel was fine, he misses you. And Colette, she sends her love." The millennia old man looked lost, staring at the gold glowing entity in front of him

"How are you here?"

"I have manifested myself in this body, I grew tired of the garden and wished to explore the earth. This Vessel is the sister to one of your house guests, Dean Winchester."

"Dean's sister?" he reached out, like a lost child would to their mother, "I'm afraid I do not have much time, Cain."

"What do I do?" she just smiled now, lightly touching his cheek.

"Give him what he needs, Cain. Heaven is in chaos and Abaddon must be killed. Give Dean the mark."

"Give him the mark? What good will that do?" She stood now, lightly brushing her fingers over the deceased woman's grave, "It's a prophecy that must play out, as my father needs it to. I'm afraid I must go now. Take care of yourself, Son of Adam." He watched the ghostly figure vanish, still astonished that she'd even known where he was.

* * *

She snapped back to reality to see Sam and Cas looking over her as she now laid on the cot.

"What happened?"

"That's what I want to know, Grace. You just suddenly…spaced out."

"No…I was with someone…someone ancient." Castiel's eyes narrowed, "Ancient? You time traveled?" She shook her head, "No, he was here, in the present. What was his name…?"

"Grace, I think it would be good for you to get some rest, we'll wake you up when we have something on Gadreel."

"Alright." She didn't need to be told twice, she knew if she'd declined it would just be endless questions on who she talked to anyways.

And as she drifted off, the name slipped from her lips.

"Good luck…Cain."

* * *

Chapter 17 is done! And I now have so many more plans for Grace than I did before writing this chapter, some good, some bad, but you'll have to keep reading to find out what they are! MUWAHAHAHAHA

Before you leave, I have been wondering if any of you out there would like to see the Winchester's and our favorite Angel(s) in an AU set to Victoria Aveyard's Red queen series, I have so many ideas, flowing up in my head for this idea, but I don't want to do it if no one is going to read. Please let me know in the review section or PM me!


	19. Captives(AN please read)

Authors note,

So, I am NOT discontinuing the story but I am writing this note to inform my readers that my classes have resumed so updates will be slower, I have a lot of things planned for this story, and some of you may REALLY hate me by the end, but I have a sequel planned as well, and a AU story planned as well, which I may work on bit by bit in one of my many notebooks so I can begin posting simultaneously with this story.

Secondly, I also have started "An angels grace: The lost chapters", which I would love for you guys to read, these are a series of chapters revolving around different places I wanted to start in the series, but just didn't because relationship development would have been difficult. so please, go check them out. (Only one chapter so far but more are coming, I will also be posting AU things in the Lost chapters section.)

I have kind of a heavy load this semester, not just with class but with doctors appointments, involving my mental health and my physical health, so don't get discouraged if I don't update for weeks, it's coming, it is, but I come first.

with all of that said, I rally hope you are enjoying the work, I know I have a few errors, but I am only putting the story out for now, I will go back and edit things once it is complete for a more wholesome experience :)

* * *

" _Gr—a…"_ Grace looked around the area, she was pouring over some old lore books just trying to get some information straight on ghouls _, "Gr—e…"_ raising her head once more she looked around,

"Who's there? Sam…if this is a prank I swear to god." Then from another part of the bunker she heard Dean yelling. She set the book aside and stood, heading towards the eldest siblings room.

"Dean?" the petite blonde walked right into her brother as he rounded a corner, "Grace? What's going on?"

"If I knew do you think I'd be back here?" he flashed her an unappreciative look as the light flickered again, "Don't look at me like that, Sam. I know I'm all supernatural and angelic and shit now but even I don't think I could do this." He took off towards deans room, however upon arrival neither saw him.

"Dean?" Grace opened the door to the study area " _Gr—e"_ she looked at the spinning chair, thinking she'd finally gone insane, "Who's there?!"

"Who are you talking to?" she looked around the room once more as Sam reached for one of the iron swords, "No one, I just keep hearing my name."

"So you're the ghost whisperer now?" Narrowing her eyes she looked around the study again "I will slap you."

"Ooh, I'm scared." A sudden Gunshot startled them both as two pairs of eyes landed on Dean.

"So…"

"Yep. Bunker's haunted." As the brothers conversed Grace was trying to figure out where she knew the voice from, it was definitely familiar.

* * *

"How is this possible?" Sam had since busied himself with preparing salt rounds for the shot guns, "I thought you said this was the safest place on the planet.

"Look, I know nothing got in. I mean, the bunker is warded and sigiled from top to bottom, there's no way something came in from the outside."

"Okay, so whoever's haunting us died here."

"What, dead man of letters?" A thought occurred to Grace as they rattled off ideas, "No, that doesn't track. I mean, we're the first people to occupy this place in 50 years. Why would a ghost wait so long to get it's spook on?"

"Must have been a more recent death." A few more things clicked as the two had their back and forth,

' _That makes sense now…It has to be Kevin.'_ Dean refused to acknowledge Sam's proposal,

"No."

"How can you be so sure."

"Because I burned his body myself, okay? It's not him."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Dean. Remember, All the angels have fallen and heaven's closed." Grabbing a bottle of pop from the fridge she left her brothers behind.

* * *

Grace returned to the kitchen sometime later after the light had flickered again.

"No, this is not happening. I didn't spend months struggling to break through the veil just tog et stuck listening to Dean Winchester having a self-pity party. Didn't hear enough of those when I was alive" Grace just beamed from the door way as Kevin started to materialize.

"Hey, Kevin."

"You can see me?" he seemed confused, eyes trailing over the three siblings.

"Easy, Kevin. You might not hold this form for too long, okay? I-it takes a while."

"Then we should talk fast."

"Wait, Wait, Wait. Why aren't you in heaven? I mean if anybody deserves an express pass to paradise—" Grace inwardly groaned.

"It's like talking to a wall…you never listen Dean." Kevin flashed her a sympathetic look.

"I couldn't. I can't. No one can." Kevin began to flicker in and out like static on a T.V

"Heaven's closed for business, it has been since Metatron made the angel's fall." Grace popped open a beer, taking a swig before leaning against the door frame.

"Every one who's died since the angel's fell are just stuck inside the veil, waiting. And it's bad in here. Like DMV-lines-times-infinity bad." Dean turned to look at Grace.

"Hey, you're all celestial and angel-y now, can't you do something about this? Help him pass on?" Grace flashed him a look,

"Oh yeah, no, let me, uh, Let me just call god and ask him for my wings, you know, so I can fly up into the clouds and kick some angel ass. Jack Ass! I can't just power up anytime you want me too, it doesn't work that way. And in case you haven't noticed it physically drains me to do the smallest things with my abilities. I don't even know what I'm fully capable of yet."

Sam looked like he was about to Crack up, Dean looked like he wanted to throttle his sister and Kevin just looked confused.

"You're an Angel?"

"Something to that effect. I don't really have any answers yet with god having jumped ship and the angels splitting into factions." She caught her brothers looks again, "What? Cas tells me things. Only reason you two aren't really in the know is because you tend to kick ass then ask questions instead of the other way around."

"Oh, so because you're dating the Angel, you get top secret intel?" She rolled her eyes "You're a baboon." Dean narrowed his eyes at the blonde, hinting that her sarcasm was not appreciated.

"I need a favor—A big one." Kevin snapped them back to attention, The Winchester siblings' eyes fell back on the apparition.

"Okay?"

"Find my mother." There was a desirous look in his eyes

"Kevin."

"Crowley only told you she was alive to mess with you."

"I'm not going off his word. All right? I have my own sources. It's crowded in the veil all of us are stuck near he sites of our deaths. But I've been able to pass messages from spirit to spirit. I made contact with another new arrival. She said she saw my mom just a week ago, alive."

"Okay, this—this spirit that you're playing ghost telephone with, I mean, what do you even know about her?"

"Her name is Candy."

"That's reassuring…" Sam casually put a hand over Graces mouth to shut her up.

"—Say's she's in a forest in Wichita"

"That's—that's it? That's all you got?"

"Long distance communication within the veil—it's not ideal. That's why I need you to go there, summon her, see what else she knows." Sam and dean shared a look of disbelief, were they really going on a ghost hunt for some hunch that Kevin's mother might still be alive?

"You say you wanna make it right? This is how." And with that Kevin faded out.

* * *

"Where'd that little friend of yours go in such a hurry?"

"You're too late, he's gone." Two angels had ambushed Castiel in a cemetery, a blade to his throat he remained cautious.

"Castiel?"

"Our boss has been looking for you. Where's that pretty little girlfriend of yours?"

"Grace is of no import to you." The two angel's shared a look, the skinnier of the two getting up close to his face, "no, not to us, Castiel. But she is of great import to heaven." Castiel's mind raced, he had to keep her safe, especially considering recent developments.

* * *

*Wichita Kansas.*

"Stay in the Car." Dean's voice was very similar to their fathers, "Dean I can—"

"Dammit Grace, stay. in. the. car." she rolled her eyes "You know I'm gonna haul after you the instant I can't see you anymore, why do you always do this?"

"Because I'm the older brother, and you're the younger sibling, so you do what I say." If looks could Kill, Grace would likely already be locked back in the garden…

"You're not Dad, Dean. Stop trying to be like him."

"Someone has to watch out for you, Grace! With everything that's been going on, you need to stay out of harm's way."

"Oh, yeah, because being a HUNTER and staying out of harms way is just how the Winchester family works, isn't it?" she had him there, and he knew she'd just follow them regardless, sighing he looked at Sam with exasperation.

"You wanna convince her?" Sam looked between the two, Grace flashed him a look,

"Yes, Middle child, you want to intervene? My opinion obviously never matters, being the youngest." Sam narrowed his eyes.

"You." He pointed at her, "Stay in this car." She rolled her eyes at him, "Screw both of you." She slammed the door and the brothers took off.

* * *

*Unknown*

"How much longer?" Castiel was sat at a table, on one of the higher floors of some office building "You have someplace to be?" the other angel asked sarcastically.

"Relax, you're little girlfriend is fine, we haven't gone after her…yet." The elevator door opened revealing Bartholomew, who came to stand face to face with the Seraphim.

"His blade." The other angel handed over Castiel's Angle blade.

"Standard security protocol. Can't be too careful these days."

"Hello, Bartholomew." Bartholomew smiled, as if in the presence of an old friend before going in for a hug.

"Castiel. It has been too long."

* * *

Grace sat with her head rested against the window, halfway between Sleep and awake, that feeling from before rippling through her, she could hear voice's but she wasn't sure who they were.

"Hello?" obviously no response came and she sat there listening to chatter.

" _Madness, wasn't it? A puny force of 20 behind enemy lines, launching an incursion against Raphael and his loyalists."_

" _It was a calculated risk."_

" _I thought you'd gone insane, and I questioned your leadership, second guessed every step of the campaign. But you were my commander. I held my tongue. I followed orders. Raphael fled. Most of his loyalists, dead or captured. Your gambit paid off. You…won."_

" _We won."_

" _Word of your victory spread. You got called back to the garrison. You became the great Castiel…While I stayed behind, just a grunt."_

"Castiel?" Was she listening in on Angel radio? How was that possible?

" _You gained a reputation for yourself, as well. The captives I left in your care, you tortured and killed them."_

" _I was ordered to kill those captives. You've been flying solo for so long, you've forgotten that's what Angels do. We follow orders."_

" _Not you, though. Not anymore."_

" _That's right. I give them."_ That strange sensation grew, like when she passed out in the bunker, that's when Sam and Dean came back to the car.

"Hey, you okay?" Dean took notice that she was significantly paler than when they'd left.

"Fine…but I think I just tuned in to Angel Radio…I heard Cas, he was talking with someone else."

"Who, Grace?" she shook her head, "I—I'm not sure, but it was definitely a man. He said they were in the same Garrison together when Castiel fought against Raphael?"

Sam and Dean both shared a look, "Grace, whatever you heard, you need to keep it on the down low, if words gets out you can tap into Angel Radio, every angel on this god damn planet is gonna be after you." The blonde nodded.

"Yeah, I get that. I'm tired though, gonna crash while you guys drive. Wake me up when we find Ms. Tran." As the car continued along down the stretch of road there was a sudden sound of wings rustling, Sam looked back, noticing their sister was gone.

"Dean!" he screeched the car to a halt for a minute to see what Sam w as freaking out over only to find out they were sans one sister.

* * *

Suddenly Grace was hearing Castiel and the other man again, but this time it was clearer. She was in the building with them, laying flat on her back on a flight of stairs.

"Realizing they were more trouble than they were worth, we purged pour human allies, then commandeered Boyle ministries, inc. for our own use."

"Ow…" Castiel and the others stopped, the dark-haired angel looked down in surprise.

"Grace?" blue met blue as she stared up at him, "How did you get here?"

"That's what I'd like to know…I was just in the car…" she got to her feet quickly, sizing up Bartholomew.

"What is with you Angel's and suits? I get that you're soldiers…but comfort man." Bartholomew glanced at her then at Castiel.

"Friend of yours?" Castiel looked back at Bartholomew "In a manner of speaking, you could say we're…close." Bartholomew smiled, "Oh! So this is Grace Winchester. Well done Castiel, she's a pretty one." He spoke as if they were old friends, which she guessed couldn't be wrong if they fought together.

Castiel flashed her a look as if to tell her to stick by him as they continued walking.

"So, Buddy Boyle, you killed him?"

"No. we made him and his colleagues vessels. At least those who didn't go "Pop" You nervous, Castiel?"

"Your followers want me dead. I'm not entirely certain you don't, too." Grace surveyed the other angel's on the floor with minor interest, there was one who kept staring at her, she figure in an attempt to intimidate her, she made a stupid face at him and he looked appalled for a moment before going back to his business.

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"So, we're friends here?" something felt wrong, Grace caught an air of betrayal coming from Bartholomew.

"And we're free to go?"

"Of course. Though, I don't know why you would. What's out there for you, Castiel? Your mate is here with you, we will do her no harm." Graces face turned bright red at being referred to as a 'Mate' regardless, something still felt off, what was Bartholomew's end game?

"What do you really expect to accomplish on your own? You'll never find Metatron that way."

"How'd you know about Metatron?"

"I figured that's why you were pursuing Rebecca, engaging with her follower. We have different methods, Cas, but we want the same thing—to find Metatron and restore our kind to heaven."

"Then why killed Rebecca and her followers? they're no threat to you."

"Perhaps, but better to nip a fledgling faction in the bud than let it grow into a bigger threat down the road."

"A drop of blood to save a gallon." An empty looked flashed across Grace's face as she spoke, Castiel and Bartholomew stared at her,

"Bartholomew, you say your plan is for Angel kind, to restore them to heaven, but can you really restore them all if you kill them?"

"Castiel, what's going on?"

"I don't really know, this has only happened one other time, and it was out of her control."

"Murder for the sake of redemption is not redemption, you are creating martyrs for a cause. God should smite you where you stand Bartholomew, if only he were still around."

"I have to say I agree with Grace on this."

"I'm not asking you to agree, Castiel. I will outrace Malachi in the hunt for Metatron—"

"How will you outrace him when you cannot even access heaven, Bartholomew." She could tell the unfamiliar angel was becoming angry.

"And I will certainly outrace you on your own. Access to heaven or not. But f you can set aside your qualms about methods and shut your mate up for one second, there's no reason the two of us can't take him down. Together." Grace finally snapped out of it and was back to her old self, Castiel watched her with worry, considering how worn out she was after the last time this happened.

* * *

Bartholomew led them up into another office, full of surveillance equipment.

"Wow…stalker much? I'm certain that wherever the hell Metadouche is he's flattered."

"What are these locations?"

"Sightings of Metatron."

"He's been on earth?"

"Three times we know of so far. That's the benefit of a massive ground operation. Eyes and ears everywhere. It's only a matter of time before we get an active location."

"Why wait? With this kind of information, I'd lure him out."

"I knew you'd be an asset. No one's as motivated as you to take him down. I've got my hands so full with the factions, it's distracted me from the real goal. But with you by my side—the new boss and the ultimate rebel working together—think of the message that would send to would be dissidents. They'd finally understand that resistance is futile. Think of the bloodshed we could avert…what a united angelkind could accomplish in heaven…elsewhere."

Two angels burst into the surveillance room with another, a black out bag over his head to prevent him from seeing where he was being taken.

"What are you doing?!" Grace exclaimed as Bartholomew ripped the bag from the other angel's head and placed his blade to the other angel's neck.

"What needs to be done. I'm gonna torture the rebel, find out what he knows, then kill him." He raised his head to look at Castiel.

"And you're going to help."

* * *

Castiel had told grace to keep her eyes shut as Bartholomew tortured the so-called rebel angel, naturally she refused, despite his obvious irritation he gave up on convincing her

"Tell me where they are." Bartholomew seemed to enjoy cutting into this man, Grace could already tell the rebel angel was weak, and saw no point in continuing the senseless act of torture.

"I told you. They're dead. I'm the last."

"Can't you see he's telling the truth? He's done."

"Yes, I believe he is." He twirled the knife around and started towards Castiel but shifted, last minute, holding the blade out to the blonde Winchester.

"If she is truly an Ally of ours…She can finish him off." His words were to Castiel, but he stared Grace down.

"Bartholomew, no. She doesn't need to kill anyone, she has nothing to prove. It doesn't have to be like this."

"Castiel, Get your head out of the sand. If she is truly our friend, she will have no problems killing an enemy." He turned his attention back to Grace, "Finish him." Grace stared at the blade he had forced into her hand.

Grace walked forwards towards the "Rebel" angel, looking down at him sympathetically.

"She is not a murderer."

"She's not, because as I've been told, your mate is a Winchester, and that means she is a hunter, and are Hunters not murderers in their own respect? In the time she's been a hunter she's slaughter what— hundreds of monsters?"

"Who she is, what she's done, means nothing, that's not who she is."

"No? then who is she? I want to work with you both, Castiel, but I need proof. They need proof that they were wrong, that they can trust the both of you." Bartholomew turned to grace once more,

"This has to be done."

"We were never free to leave. Our only choice was to obey or be killed. Well, I choose." Grace threw the Angel Blade to the floor.

"I am truly sorry to hear that." Bartholomew grabbed the dagger and lunged for the captive, Grace jumped between them, taking the dagger into her own flesh.

"No!" one of the angels standing guard Held Castiel back as the dagger plunged into Graces stomach, she let out a gut wrenching scream as her body toppled to the floor, Bartholomew stood there for a second, staring at the blonde who took a knife for someone she didn't even know, Castiel shoved the man holding him back, hurrying over to kneel by Grace.

"Hey, Hey! stay with me, Grace." Bartholomew scoffed at the scene of Castiel putting her head in his lap.

"As your refusal and her sacrifice makes perfectly clear, you always thought you were better than me." He threw the bladed to the floor, watching it come to a stop by Grace's body.

"Shall we put your superiority to the test once and for all?"

"Cas…"He looked down at her as Bartholomew loosened his tie, "What is it?"

"Cas…Kick—Kick his ass." Castiel stood, laying her head back down on the ground softly as he let Bartholomew take the first swing.

"No. Angels fighting angels has to stop somewhere. Might as well stop with me." Bartholomew smirked, walking away.

"Fine." He grabbed the blade off the table, as Grace began forcing herself to her feet, hand over where he'd stabbed her.

"No!" as Bartholomew lunged at Castiel she threw herself at the angel, taking him to the floor, "Get off me!" she wrested the blade from Bartholomew's hands and held the point to his neck, he began to laugh,

"To the victor, humans are not so pathetic after all. Do it." Grace threw the knife to Castiel who caught it.

"No, death is too good for you."

"who do you think you are."

"I think I'm Grace Winchester, Hunter. I save lives, I don't take them."

"You humans will never understand, there can be no peace without bloodshed." As Cas came to help her, Bartholomew pulled another blade from his jacket, lunging at them. Castiel was quick to react, twisting the blade from Bartholomew's hand and killing him instantaneously. He moved towards grace again, gently putting two fingers to her forehead to heal her. Grace smiled at the warm feeling that rushed over her.

"What you did today was admirable, you saved his life and my own at the risk of losing yours. You would make a wonderful garrison leader." Grace just smiled,

"Yeah well, you've lost too many in heaven, no more senseless bloodshed." She untied the man from the chair.

"Thank you." As the three walked towards the door, Bartholomew's men refused to let them pass.

"Move." They hesitated for a second before letting the three leave.

* * *

*The next day*

Grace and Castiel now stood in a cemetery. "I'm sorry I created this chaos." She knew he wasn't talking to her, he was atoning. "Sorry I couldn't do more to fix it. You may have lost the war, Rebecca, but you tried a new way. You have my respect for that."

There was a sudden hand at his shoulder "I don't want to fight. But if I have to, I will"

"I didn't come to fight." Grace and Castiel both turned to face the man. "When I fell, I thought I had no choice, but yesterday, you two showed me that there is a choice. And I choose the two of you." Grace looked taken a back, she wasn't even an angel.

"I'm not even an angel"

"No, but you are sacred to heaven." She shared a look with Castiel, who just shook his head.

"I'm sorry. We're not leaders."

"Yes, you are. You both are. If you both will have me, Castiel, Grace, I will follow you. And I am not the only one." Both pairs of eyes fell on two new angels.

"Looks like the start of a new faction…"

"Yes, it does."


	20. Meta Fiction

"Cas I really don't think this is a good idea…" usually the angel listened to her, but today he had been adamant about checking the place out, so now, here she was, wandering around what she assumed to be an old rundown warehouse, staring at a door with a large smear of blood running down it's already rusted metal.

"Charming…" Castiel pushed the door open, "You stay here."

"No way, we're in this together now, Cas." He let out an exasperated sigh and trudged further in, Grace was disgusted with what lie inside the dilapidated construct, there were dead angels everywhere, as displayed by the wing like scorch marks on the walls and floor.

As Cas went to survey the strange sigil on the wall, Grace checked over the deceased angels, closing the eyes on some of the corpses when she'd heard footsteps, turning her head slightly she saw a woman, angel blade out, ready to strike him down where he stood.

"CAS!" her voice was enough to rouse him, he turned quickly and disarmed the brunette.

"Please—please don't! Don't hurt me." Grace stood, looking her over, "We're not going to hurt you. It's okay." Castiel kneeled so he was eye level with the angel, "What's your name?"

"Hannah."

"Hannah, what happened here?" Castiel's voice remained amiable, Hannah was clearly injured, displayed by her swollen eye and blood-stained face, her dark eyes drifted back to the odd sigil painted on the wall, she looked terrified, but that may have been an understatement.

Yeah—I—heard it, too. What was it?"

"I don't know. It, uh, it sounded familiar. It sounded like heaven. It's so strange down here. I, uh, followed the tone and found so many of my brothers and sisters had, as well. It felt safe here, and then the doors slammed shut and a strange angel arrived he said her worked for the new god."

"For Metatron?"

Grace frowned, she knew exactly who Hannah was talking about, Gadreel, the son of a bitch who wore her older brother as a meat puppet.

"I'm going to stab his eyes out then I'm going to feed them to him…" Hannah looked over at Grace, but chose to pay no more mind to the comment.

"Mm-hmm, he made us an offer—join Metatron, fight for him, and those that did would one day be allowed to return to heaven."

"Return to heaven?" Castiel could tell the woman was immensely sore based on how she was shifting around on the floor, Grace looked down at the brunette once again as she spoke, Hannah now stared at grace like she knew her from somewhere.

"I didn't believe him, either."

"You were right in that decision, Hannah. Metatron is not to be trusted, gods scribe or not."

"He said he would take us home. Some angels joined him. My friends and I refused, and, uh…" she was on the verge of tears.

"We're both sorry for your loss, Hannah. For all our loss." Castiel reached out with two fingers, brushing them softly against the woman's head, healing her injuries. Grace smiled at the action, she loved that despite having spent millennia as a soldier he was compassionate, though that could have just been because of his time on earth.

As soon as she was healed, Hannah stood, smiling gratefully, "You're Castiel, aren't you? And the Winchester girl?"

"Yes." The two responded in sync. "You both took a stand against Bartholomew, and you, you're not even an angel…well, not entirely…I'm not certain what you are." She tilted her head, looking Grace directly in the eyes, "It's hard to get a proper reading on you, it's almost as if I'm locked from your mind, but, I know I can trust you. Are you both going to help us, lead us against Metatron?"

"We're not leaders."

"But you—"

"We are not leaders, Hannah. But the both of us will find Metatron and make him pay." The brunette was adamant however, "Let me help you. Let us help you."

"Hannah…" Grace knew she would not be deterred from fighting alongside them, "You're safer away from us. You said you trusted me?" Hannah looked back to the small blonde, "I did"

"Then we will call upon you should we need your help, it's safer now if Castiel and I go this alone, we can't risk anyone else getting hurt because of us. Do you understand?" There was understanding evident in her blue eyes as she gave a simple nod.

"Now, This angel who attacked you, was his name Gadreel?"

* * *

" _Gadreel. Gadreel is working for Metatron? For how long?"_ Castiel pushed open the door to the motel room and Grace hurried inside, dropping her duffle bag on the ground as she went.

"Tell Sam and Dean I say Hi. I'm gonna hop in the shower." The angel gave a nod of his head and relayed her message.

"I don't know how long, Sam."

" _So, Metatron made Gadreel kill Kevin?"_

"It would explain a lot," Out of his peripheral vision Cas could see Grace stripping her clothes off, a very distracting action for him.

"And there have been…no new prophets, which…Metatron could have fixed to his, uh, his advantage." his eyes were still watching Grace, and there was a part of him that felt ashamed of his actions but another part that couldn't care less. On the other end of the phone line, Dean Winchester smirked.

" _Cas, if there's something you'd rather be doing, man…we could pick this up another time, maybe in an hour or two?"_

" _Dean!"_ Sam seemed to be the more mature of the two, as he scolded the eldest of the three siblings. _"What, if the angel wants to get his rocks off, let him, guy works hard, plus if we weren't related to her I'd bang her."_

" _DEAN! Gross!"_ Castiel listened awkwardly as the two bickered, the water in the shower was running now, and Castiel was mildly curious as to what it would be like if the two shared a shower sometime.

" _Anyways, Gadreel said that angels are returning to heaven? How? I thought that the spell was irreversible."_

" _That's what Crowley said. Look, let's just find Gadreel and—and beat some answers out of him."_

"Yeah, here's something to start with that, uh…hold on, I'm, uh…sending you a photo of the symbol that drew all the angels in."

" _Okay. Got it."_

"It's acting as some kind of angel siren. I think it's a spell. The ingredients used to create it were very odd—griffin feather's, bones of a fairy. I've never seen it before."

" _Yeah. Me, neither. All right, let me see what I can find"_ Castiel's eyes drifted to a small fridge in front of him "Honor bar. What's honorable about a miniature bar in a motel room?"

On the other line Dean wondered how an angel could be thrown so easily off task.

" _Why don't you and Grace find out?"_ Cas could almost see the smirk on the eldest Winchesters face,

"How are you, Dean?"

" _I'm fine Cas, how about you? I mean, other than the obvious."_

"I Miss my wings, but having Grace around does ease the pain a bit. Life on the road…smells."

" _Yeah. Listen, I got a match, and it's not from the lore—It's from police records. Looks like that symbol you found was spotted at a handful of crime scenes the last couple days, all multiple homicides."_

"And where were these crime scenes?"

" _Uh, Utah—Baker, Hill Valley."_

"And we're in Bishop Falls, Utah." The shower water had stopped running now, and the rustling in the bathroom became another distraction as Castiel tried to focus on the task at hand.

" _Also looks like most of the crime scenes were in industrial areas."_

"So, Gadreel is heading north?" The sudden appearance of the blonde startled the angel, and not just because she in nothing but a towel, how was she was so stealthy?

" _Hey, Gracie."_

"Hey Dean-o, Hey Sammy."

" _What's the next big town on your map?"_

"There's two."

"Could be Auburn or Ogden."

" _All right, you two take Auburn, we'll take Ogden—meet in the middle."_ The call ended there, and Castiel rounded on his self-claimed mate,

"You know, that towel is very distracting, and so is leaving the bathroom door open while you undress."

"If it really bothered you, you would have done something about it." She smirked, Castiel let out a low growl at her teasing before pulling her in for a rough kiss, biting her lip to ask for entrance. she complied, and his tongue slipped past her lips before he pushed her down towards the bed to continue their little session, now nipping lightly at the skin of her neck.

The Tv across the room suddenly flickered on to some smut film she'd seen Dean watch on occasion.

"What in the world?" Castiel turned and noticed the pornographic film beginning to play on the T.V, the electricity in the room flickered, and the slow jazz track of the film filled the room.

" _Sometimes, you need a break from the hustle and bustle of city life. #AmIRite? Sometimes you need #CasaErotica. CasaErotica."_ The scantily clad woman ran her tongue over her teeth in a seductive manner.

"That's inappropriate."

"Inappropriate, really? This coming from the angel who was making out with a woman dressed only in a towel." The angel turned slightly pink in the face and Grace just smirked at him.

The there was a knock on the Movie characters door, and as she went to open it, it revealed a man in a fake mustache she recalled quite well.

"Oh hell no!"

" _Hello. Remember me, Buck-o."_

"Gabriel."

" _I'm gonna take that as a yes."_ And as his "Character" ripped off the corny pornstache, in an instant the angel she loathed for so many reasons was in their room.

"I need your help, Brother."

"I thought you were dead."

"I wish you were dead." Castiel shot Grace a 'Be-quiet' look, and Gabriel just smiled at her.

"I loathe you." The scrawnier angel just rolled his eyes

"Good to see you two, sweetheart. Nice to see my baby brother got himself a girl. Way to go man."

"I will stab you."

"So, I assume you faked your own death?"

"And I assume you weren't let into Mensa while I was gone." Grace grabbed some clothes and went to get dressed, she knew how the trickster angel worked, and being nude around him was not in her best interest.

"Where have you been?"

"Ohhh, you know," he sighed looking furtively around the room, "hither with a side of yon. I was hiding, captain side eyes. In the safest place in the universe—heaven. But then you and the three stooges had to go and ruin Christmas now, didn't you?"

"Sorry."

"Oh cry me a river. Speaking of the three stooges, Blondie in there has one hell of a secret, it's a shame even she doesn't know what it is. Only a select few angels really know who she is, and let me tell you, it's not some sword, No, she's much more important than that."

"What are you talking about, Gabriel?"

"Her memories are a lie, Buck-o. you getting any of this now?" the Archangel took a seat on the well-used couch.

"So if she's not the sword, then who is she?"

"The swords been lost for centuries, Castiel, and an object cannot manifest itself into human form, she has to be a person, or a celestial being then, right?" Grace, who was fully dressed now, listened through the bathroom door, wondering what the hell this Arch-Angel was going on about.

"so, she's a reincarnation?"

"No, Columbo. She's in witness protection, and I know who she really is, all of her memories are false, she's not Grace Winchester." Was that true? Were her memories false? She knew the angel often lied to get out of tight situations, but he wouldn't lie about something like this, would he?

* * *

*Later that night*

" _This is dean's other, other cell, so you must know what to do."_

"Dean, it's me. I'm—"

"Ho, Whoa, Whoa, Woah! Hands-free much?" Gabriel took the phone from him, "Both on the wheel. you've got precious cargo. Hey, what's up, shorties? Remember me, The guy who died for your sins? No, not the cat with the beard and sandals—the hot one. Hey, thank you so much for the flowers and condolences— really meant a lot to the fam." Grace frowned from the back seat,

"I'll show you condolences, you winged douche bag. I still owe you for the T.V land bullshit. That's right, I didn't forget!"

"Any old how, your boy toy and I are rolling our way towards your top-secret domicile. Ooh! call to discuss. Those kooky kids." Gabriel handed the phone back to Castiel, who kept his eyes trained forwards as he drove.

"So, you've been back for months. What have you seen out there?"

"After it was raining winged men, hallelujah? Well, you know—total nigh-biblical chaos, Crowley and Aba-douche duking it out. Good times. And then there's our peeps, scattered like confetti."

"There has been a lot of confusion."

"You think? Most angels aren't like us, Castiel. They can't handle the whole free-will thing. They're sheep, drones. but us? We're different. We're rebels—one without a cause, one with, and a rather pretty friend to boot."

"I'm just a soldier, and Grace…" He trailed off, he didn't want to leave the woman with an existential crisis, she was only 22…about to be 23 in a few months, but knowing what he knew now, and had no idea she knew as well, was that she wasn't who she thought she was, and that could destroy her.

"Grace is a sword, in a manner of speaking, we watch each other's backs."

"Bitch, please." Did she just hear that come out of an angel? A small part of her couldn't help but crack up. "You've been god more often than dad has." Castiel chuckled,

"Yeah. Look how well that worked out."

"Well, go ahead. Be a soldier all you want. I'm gonna need as many as I can find."

"Why are you doing this Gabriel?" this questioned piqued Graces interest in the conversation, "Actually, I'm curious about that too, last I heard Luci ganked your ass at a god convention."

"I will put you somewhere else, girly." Castiel shot his brother a warning glance "You will not touch her." Gabriel turned his attention back to the road.

"I always run…from dad, from the family. I don't want to run anymore. I want to do what I was meant to do—lead."

"Well, we need a leader. And I'm happy it's gonna be you."

"I'm not. I don't like you, Gabriel." The arch-Angel looked back at the blonde, "Look, I'm sorry, trapping you in the idiot box with your brothers was a dick move, I get that, but it got my message across." He looked out the window for a moment after his half-assed apology,

"Little low on gas, aren't we?" Cas pulled into a Gas'n'sip just off the highway Grace sped out of the backseat and hurried into the establishment for all the junk food she could find.

"Ooh, smell that cancer." He inhaled deeply, taking in the array or cheaply made aromas, Grace frowned at his as she piled several cannisters of pizza flavored Pringles into a basket and then moved to the snack cake aisle. Another car pulling in drew Gabriel out of his sarcastic shell,

"Uh, remember those minions of Metatron I mentioned?" Grace could almost hear the corny dramatic music playing in the background as Castiels attention fell on the crowd of fallen angels pouring out from the bed of a relatively new looking ford 4x4.

"We'll never keep these guys out of here."

"I know. So…we fight."

"No. I fight. I lied before. I never watched *Downton Abbey." I was just trying to fit in. Oh, and I do have some arch-angel juice left. I can hold these boneheads off long enough."

"Long enough for what?"

"For you and little Debbie to get out of here." Grace flashed him a look that the Arch-Angel ignored it.

"No, I'm not leaving you."

"Gay" Castiel now shot her a furtive glance

"Yes, you are. Those guys will cut you to ribbons, and then what happens to her? They drag her ass back to Metatron he locks her away, or worse…" he said playing back on their earlier conversation,

"I can stall then long enough for you two to amscray, and you can take my place."

"What? What are you talking about?" Castiel stood his ground, getting into Gabriel's face

"The angel's need a leader, and it's gotta be somebody like us—somebody different."

"No."

"I know you don't want this burden, Castiel. And I know you won't let her do this alone." The archangels brown eyes drifted to the blonde beside his brother. "I wouldn't let her do it alone either, all things considered."

"What if I fail again?" Gabriel clapped Castiel on the shoulder, getting him to face him once more "You won't. you can't" Grace watched awkwardly as the brothers hugged, her eyes darting around as the crowd of Metatron followers gathered outside the stations door.

"Thank you."

"Shut up." Grace hurried towards the backdoor but but stopped when Castiel did, he turned back to Gabriel.

"Haven't got all day, Hot pants."

"Was any of this real?"

"Cas?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" the blonde follower kicked in the glass on the door, Gabriel spun. "Cas, Grace, GO!" Castiel stood his Ground as Grace watched with wild eyes. "So, What—we all die here?"

"No…" It finally hit Grace, the arch-angel before her was nothing more than an illusion

"You're already dead…" Grace watched with a sad expression as Castiel put His angel blade through his brother, but there was no bright light, or squelching sound as the blade passed through flesh.

"Well." Gabriel looked to where the blade passed right through him, with a snap of his fingers, the Metatron followers vanished, leaving the three of them alone in the quiet convenience store.

"What gave it all away?"

"My coat was torn earlier today." He showed Gabriel exactly where he'd ripped the satin lining of his trench coat, the angel looked dismayed,

"Ah, crap. I really hate continuity errors."

"So, none of this is real, and I'm guessing we're no longer in the motel."

"Here's the thing—none of it was real, but all of it was true."

"Whose truth—yours or Metatrons?"

"Just hear him out, would you? He's trying to help you two."

"Really? How? By locking her back in the garden? She needs to be here, Gabriel."

"Sorry—didn't read the whole script, just, uh, skimmed for my parts. Well, it's good to see you, old bean." Castiel stopped him before he could leave,

"Wait. Are you dead?" neither received an answer as the illusion ended and both woke up in some upscale looking library, Two pairs of eyes scanned the area before ultimately landing on Metatron himself.

"What makes a story work?" If grace had her way she'd show him exactly what made a story work, but she was currently tied to a chair and had a cloth gag in her mouth.

"Tonight I thought I'd tell you a little story…let you decide." The greying angel stood and stopped the music, letting out a long winded sigh, "That was my plan, anyway" he walked over and tugged the gag from Castiel's mouth.

"I guess that's where my story failed" Metatron pulled something from the inside of Castiel's trench coat, a single strand of thread.

"Yes. This "The curious incident," eh, inspector Gregory?"

"Who?"

"Inspector Gregory. Sherlock Holmes. "Silver blaze?"" Castiel shook his head at all those things, "You have been around since scaly things crawled out of the muck, would it have killed you to pick up a book, watch a movie." Grace rolled her eyes from across the room, she was silently agreeing with the man for once, Castiel really needed to culture himself.

"Here. I know it's a bit of a retcon, but it's gonna make this whole conversation a lot easier." Metatron pushed two fingers against Cas' head and pulled away a second later. "I just gave you every book, movie, and Tv show I have consumed in the last couple millennia. Now do you understand that "the universe is made up of stories, not atoms"?"

"I understand that that's a—a quote by Muriel Rukeyeser." There was now a smile on Metatron's face "Ah! It can be taught."

He then finally turned to Grace, "And don't think I've forgotten about you, my pretty little lady. You're quite a key player in our story, see. I thought you were the sword, this all important flame, but it turns out you are so much more…" As he trailed off Grace narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do either of you know the first rule of writer's club—No? Steal from the best. Second rule? Every hero needs a villain."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hannah and her sisters—I set that all up, told Gadreel, 'Slaughter all those who will not join my army, but let one live, one…to tell the tale." Metatron finally pulled the gag from Graces mouth, letting the cloth fall around her neck.

"I assume this is your way of showing mercy then, you deranged lunatic."

"Is it true? Can you bring angels back to heaven?" he chuckled darkly, "Sorry, no spoilers. And you keep missing the point. You and the lady are supposed to lead the angels."

"We are not leaders, Metatron."

"Apparently. So…I did my homework. "The Winchester gospels" pulpy stuff." He held up on of Chucks older books and scoffed before tossing it into the fire. "Gave me an idea though, you two needed to be taught a lesson, and nobody teaches a lesson like good old Gabriel, A.K.A the Trickster. So…I started typing."

"And you did all this to make us Hero's? " Metatron cracked up as Grace spoke, "No, you dear are neither a hero, nor a villain, you just exist in this story, for now, but as I said you're quite the character in the future, especially since all your memories…they're faker than an illegal immigrant's citizens papers. But I won't spoil your story for you just yet. " when he finally regained his composure the older angel frowned.

"Neither of you are the hero in this mess-terpiece. Castiel, you are a villain, and Grace, you're the problem. I'm the hero."

Grace had had enough of the secrets "All right, what's with all this 'Your memories are fake" shit!? Someone give me answers, now!"

"Grace if I knew anything abut this I would have told you, it appears my own memories have been tampered with." Metatron came to sit at the front of the desk again,

"Grace Winchester, gods greatest forgery, created specifically for his most beautiful creation."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Wow, the stigma about blondes is true, isn't it. How are you not getting it? I just gave you a huge clue to your own identity."

"So I'm a forgery, meaning Gabriel was telling the truth, I'm not really related to my brothers?"

"Not even close, you're not even human. But you two have that figured out by now, with the astral projection to speak with Cain, and the sudden flying off to random places, without so much as a single thought, haven't you?"

"Look, I'm not an avid fiction reader, Metatron. Just cut to the point?"

"I can't tell you that information, it would ruin my plans. Guess you'll just have to figure out when the time comes. Spend the remainder of your time living the lie you'd led until this point, or until the biggest player returns."

* * *

Metatron had been prattling on about reasons he'd left Castiel alive for a while now and honestly, Grace was falling asleep.

"I left you human because I was hoping you would live happily ever after, imagine my surprise when you end up with her. It's ironic, really. You'll both see when everything falls together. If you both wanna get back on board, fine, but you're going to have to follow my script."

"Well, based on your assessment, that doesn't sound like me."

"You two lead the dumb, disenfranchised, rebellious angels against me, Castiel. They will follow you, and Grace. And they'll all die, but I'm gonna save a nice, warm seat up top for you and her. You will both be saved."

"Go fuck yourself."

"A lady of your position should watch her mouth. Didn't your father teach you better?" she scoffed,

"Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners. _PLEASE_ go fuck yourself, you pompous, overinflated, douche bag." Castiel bit back a small grin at her attitude, it was something he'd certainly grown fond of in the time he'd known her.

"Sorry to interrupt your writing session, sir. But something's happened." Another overly formal clad angel opened the doors,

"What is it?"

"It's Gadreel."

"Oh, has that son of a bitch burned yet?" the woman ignored her."

* * *

Sam was looking around the room where Cas and Grace had last said they were staying, Castiel's phone was discarded on the table by an old book, and Graces was on the bedside table the little light up top flashing green from missed calls and texts. The sudden sound of rustling wings grabbed his attention as he turned, gun raised, only to find Metatron behind him.

"Easy tiger, I'm here to trade. You have something of mine, and I have two things of yours. Bring him here tomorrow, say…6:00-ish. If not, Castiel and your little sister die. No come backs this time."

"An even trade?" Sam wasn't sure he could trust the angel, he'd double crossed them before.

"I am an entity of my word." With that the angel was gone.

* * *

When Sam found Dean and Gadreel they were both in pretty bad shape, but the second he spilled the new t his older brother anger flooded back to his eyes.

"That bastard has Grace and Cas?"

"He's offering up a fair trade."

"We can't trust Metatron."

"I-I know that. Obviously. But look, this is the first time we're gonna know for sure where Metatron is. Let's take Gadreel to the meet-up, make the exchange, and the trap Metatron."

* * *

Sam checked his watch for what must have been the thousandth time. "He's late."

"Or he's not gonna show."

"Of course I'm gonna show. I was just waiting for you two to finish setting up your little trap for me." He stepped forward into the spot where they'd laid out a circle of holy oil "Uh, am I hitting my mark?" the brothers shared a look, "Well, come on. Let's go, I'm waiting." The douche bag angel put on quite a show, pretending to be afraid before laughing and using the holy fire to arm his hands.

"Either of you bring s'mores? Holy fire actually gives them a delightful minty aftertaste. Make a wish, boys." He blew out the fire like it was a candle on a birthday cake as Sam and dean went for their angel blades.

"No, thanks!" and in an instant the boys were pressed against the impala. Popping open the trunk Metatron erased their warding and undid the cuff's on Gadreel as a black car pulled into the motel lot, the back door opened, letting Grace and Castiel out into the chilly midafternoon air.

"Sam, Dean!" from where the boys stood there appeared to be no scratches on their sister, or Castiel, at least they wouldn't have to have a full on angel beat down in a motel parking lot.

"Well, a deal is a deal." Grace really wanted to punch him, and not just for all the fucking mind games he'd played in the last 24 hours.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can. Because you and your little siblings, and your fine, feathered friend and all those secrets you've got locked away in your bunker, her included, can't stop me….well, actually she could, if she only knew who she was. Sad really. But I am going to enjoy watching you try. And it's gonna be a hell of a show. never forget I gave you a chance" he looked at Grace for a few moments before he turned to walk away. "See you around Castiel…Avarin." The three men shared confused looks at the foreign name,

"Who the fuck is Avarin? what a stupid name." Grace commented after the angel vanished, somewhere in Castiel's mind the name was vaguely familiar but he had no idea why.

* * *

The guys stayed out to talk while Grace went in to grab another shower, being in heaven left a horrible smell on her and she didn't like it, she felt too clean as well, so she hopes the slightly dirty motel shower would fix that.

The name Metatron had called her by in the lot kept repeating in her head, getting louder and louder like a fire alarm in the back of her mind as it pushed forward.

"Avarin… why does that name sound so familiar now?" she shrugged it off however as the hot water rushed over her now slightly paler, sun-kissed skin, she heard the muffled sound of the door closing, signaling Cas had come back into the room, her mind wandered off again, that was until suddenly the shower curtain was flung open, revealing an almost naked Castiel.

"CAS! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Joining you in the shower, obviously." He said this like it was common for him, and it was most certainly not, if anything this was uncharacteristic of the angel, "If you wanna shower together fine, but you don't ever throw open the curtains on a hunter, that's like asking to be stabbed."

"You were going to stab me? Where were you hiding a knife?" he tilted his head questioningly at her.

"Just get in the shower Cas…"

* * *

So, that's the end of chapter 19, there will be more updates when I find time to write more, this alone took me a few hours, and not just because I have constant distraction *Angry face* but I gave you all a little hint to what's coming, and it's repeated several times so hopefully those of you out there in reader land pick up on the answer, but I'm not tell you anything more at this point. Good luck.


	21. King of the Damned

"Grace?" the blonde woman's eyes had glazed over, "Castiel, what's going on?" Hannah inquired, Castiel knew she had a way to tune into angel radio, and he assumed this was when it happened.

"Patience Hannah, she's tuned in."

"Tuned in? to Angel Radio?" Hannah turned her attention back to where Grace sat, "Does she often speak when this happens?"

"On occasion. But let's be quiet." Hannah was starting to wonder if the woman was in fact an oracle.

' _these are dangerous times. You must be careful what you say. you never know who might be listening.'_

' _I said nothing.'_

' _oh, you said plenty. Apparently, you felt the need to discuss your relationship with Metatron—his strategies...'_

' _No.'_

' _Privileged information. You speak that freely, and there are consequences, as you're about to find out.'_ There was silence on the line for a moment,

"Is she an oracle?"

"No, Hannah, she is not. We would have known if she were."

"So then what is she?"

"I have no idea, but Metatron called her by a different name before."

"A different name?"

"Yes, I believe he called her…Avarin?" while the two angels conversed, Grace was homed in on the angels conversation.

" _Is that him?"_

" _It is."_

"That's my cue. Stay with Grace, I have to go greet our guest." Castiel left the room to meet their newly acquired Metatron follower.

* * *

The door opened, revealing the Winchester brothers just as they were about to knock on the door, "If you'll follow me, the commander's will see you now."

"The commander's?" Dean mouthed behind the angels back as the angel led them into the bull pen both brothers were ambushed by quite a formidable force.

"SAM, DEAN!" Grace launched herself at them, both caught her with a firm grip,

"Hey, Short stack." She rolled her eyes at Dean as she turned to Sam.

"Hey, Grace." The blonde smiled, "I've got it from here, Ben. Dismissed." She grinned at the angel, who just walked away with a sheepish smile.

"Benjamin's a big softy, Cas is upstairs in his office." She pointed at the trench coat clad angel as she led them up the stairs.

"Cas, Visitors." Cas turned, and Grace hadn't seen such a friendly smile on his face in a while as he hugged it out with the guys.

"Grace can be a little stuffy." It was odd to hear the angel joke, but Grace just rolled her eyes, "Says you. I think I'm adorable."

"That's my line." Dean chides, smiling at his sister. "So…commander's? both of you?"

"Grace is technically my second in command…none of this was my idea. They had no leader and insisted on the two of us."

"Yeah. no, we get it. You guys are rock stars."

"No one beats Zeppelin."

"Damn right." Dean clapped Grace on the back, "Bartholomew is dead. Malachi was murdered by Gadreel, and with Metatron as powerful as he is now I needed to do something."

"So this war between angels is really gonna happen, huh?"

"Not if we can find a diplomatic option, no. Metatron is running a dictatorship from Heaven, letting in only the chosen few he deems "Worthy" It's like Hitler and his whole Arian race. Wipe out those who are unworthy and rebuild the society the way he believes it should be, with him as, you guessed it, the new God."

Sam looked mildly impressed "Someone paid attention in school." Dean scoffed, "Yeah, good luck with your diplomacy"

"Dean, this Angel-on-Angel violence—it has to end. Someone has to say, "Enough.""

"And that someone is you?"

"That brings us to why you two are here." Grace tried to break the tension as she sat on Cas' desk, legs crossed at the ankles,

"We have a prisoner. It's an Angel from Metatron's inner circle. I need—we need to know what they're planning, but so far, he's revealed nothing."

"So, you're done with the rough stuff, and you want us to be your goons?"

"You two have had success with this before, Dean. Crowley for example."

"If you don't want to do it, I understand"

"Who says I don't wanna do it?"

* * *

"You're wasting your time, I have nothing to say."

"We disagree." Dean circled him like a hungry wolf, ready to devour it's prey, Angel blade in hand.

"There's no use torturing me. I'm a trained commando. It won't work."

"Wow. Well, you just asked me to dance."

"Dean!"

"Dean!" his siblings' voices startled him back to reality, Why grace had insisted on coming down for the "Interrogation" he'd never understand.

"He won't be telling us anything dead. Besides, you know, I'm—I'm really starting to realize that he probably doesn't know anything. He was probably just pretending at the bar." Grace catching onto what Sam was doing, nodded her head in agreement,

"Sam's right. Dudes probably just a nobody. Running his mouth for street cred. I mean, do the math.

"Ezra here is one of Metatron's elite posse? Really? One of Metatron's most trusted is, uh—is hanging out at bars, blabbing about the boss. Does that make any sense?"

"Well, only if Metatron is purposely surrounding himself with losers. Yeah."

"Exactly! Right?"

"What's this guy even doing here?"

"He's a wannabe." The Winchester siblings just kept bashing the angel, ignoring that he was sitting right there,

"I mean if he was a key player, like he wants us to believe he is, he would be up in heaven with Metatron where all the action is."

"Exactly."

"What if I'm a decoy?" the three turned to look at the angel in question now, "Or in deep cover?" Sam and Grace laughed.

"Uh, It-it's pathetic."

"Mm, probably hasn't been to heaven, not since the fall."

"Of course not." Ezra scoffed, clearly offended by the little credit he was receiving, "Yes, I have" Grace rolled her eyes,

"Buddy, the gates are sealed. No one can get in."

"Who said anything about gates? You don't need gates when you have a private portal." So that's how they were coming and going? They were finally getting somewhere. All three scoffed, "right. If there was a doorway on earth, the angels would have sensed it."

"Yeah, you can't hide something like that."

"No."

"You can if it moves around from place to place, if it's wherever the boss wants it to be."

"I see. I got it. So, you heard a rumor about Metatron's "Secret portal," and you decided to run with it."

"It's not a rumor. He showed me." Grace laughed, "Wow…you're a fan."

"You're a fan?

"A fan, yeah." They could all see that Ezra was getting really annoyed with the taunting.

"Just 'cause you're hot for Metatron…or Bieber…or Beckham…just 'cause you know everything about them doesn't mean you actually know them."

"Or that they even know you exist."

"Ooh, that's cold, Sammy."

"I'm just sayin, man" Grace let the boys take it from there, hanging back by the door.

"I was interviewed personally by Metatron for a key post."

"Yeah? Oh, wow. Well, then—then maybe you can tell me why you weren't at your key post and you were hanging down here instead." Ezra looked uncomfortable as Dean stared him down,

"Mm. now, that blows. He got passed over."

"Yeah."

"I was a finalist."

"Oh, man. To get so close and then get kicked down the stairs. It sucks to be you."

"Hardly anybody was chosen! And ground forces is still a very important assignment. It was an honor to have even been considered for the squad."

What "Squad"? there is no squad."

"Yeah, says you. It's a highly guarded secret."

"Oh."

"And what would you be doing, exactly?" when they got no response, Grace knew he had figured out he'd been duped, and by a group of humans no less.

"Wait a second. Just, please, uh…Clarify this for me. You desperately wanted this job, but you didn't know what it was?"

"Well, until you were chosen, the exact nature of the mission was kept a secret."

"Wow…"

"And… hardly anyone was chosen." Then it finally dawned on him he was not trusted by Metatron at all, he really was a decoy.

* * *

"It's unbelievable. I mean, he was fine when we left him."

"I barely touched the guy."

"Its true, Cas. I watched them." Castiel looked uncertain, but he trusted Grace, knew she wasn't lying.

"Still shackled, no weapon. It wasn't suicide."

"No. this was an angel kill." The three siblings shared a look, "Okay. Well, I'm just gonna say it. Maybe your operations been hacked. You know, Metatron's got somebody on the inside."

"I was sure everyone here was loyal. Finally united by a common cause."

"Well, that's the problem. See, you don't think anybody is lying. I think everybody's lying." Both Cas and Grace flashed Dean a sideways glance.

"It's a gift."

"You wanna know what else is a gift, Dean?" Green eyes fell on her as she pulled something from the top eft desk drawer, the unpleasant sound of a piece of duct tape being torn off made him flinch.

"Duct tape, Dean. It's a special gift for when you just don't know when to shut up…" she smacked it over his mouth, the eldest sibling flashing the youngest a 'bitch' face, Sam bit back laughter, and Cas smiled appreciatively. Dean turned his look on his angelic friend.

"She has a point."

* * *

"Thank you for coming." Castiel had told grace to stay a safe distance away, she was only to intervene should he try something.

"And thank you for coming alone."

"I've seen you through Sam Winchester's eyes, and he trusts you. You have a reputation for honor."

"In some circles. As for Reputations, yours precedes you."

"What happened in the garden was not my doing. I did not cause your lady friend to fall."

"I know you feel misunderstood and you're eager to redeem yourself and maybe more." Grace watched the exchange from a distance.

"You refer to my support of Metatron's campaign to rebuild heaven?"

"Your support? You've recruited for him, you've killed for him. And I know you truly believe it's for the greater good, but you've placed your faith in the wrong master."

"You don't know him."

"I know him too well, Gadreel! I made the same mistakes and it led to the fall."

"Which led to my second chance." Grace finally stepped forward, trying to ease the tension, "Castiel." Her voice was soft but firm, Gadreel's eyes fell on her.

"This is about more than just you."

"She is here?" Grace did not waiver under his glare, "Gadreel, Please, Listen to us."

"Are you suggesting I change loyalties?" The blonde frowned at his choice of words, "I am suggesting you reclaim your original loyalty—to the heaven and mission we were made to serve."

"I thought that was exactly what I was doing."

"SILENCE!" both angels turned their attention onto Grace, who's eyes had flashed a deep gold color, Castiel was surprised and Gadreel only seemed to grow sullener at the command.

"Wonderful, now that I have both of your attention's." her eyes faded back to blue, "Gadreel, as bad as you've had it, all those centuries locked away, it will be much worse under Metatron." The sound of crunching leaves fell heavily in the wooded area,

"Castiel!" someone had staged an ambush as two or three other angels sprinted from the brush, blades drawn, Castiel, Grace and Gadreel rounded, each taking one out with a blade of their own.

"Cas…" the angel looked pissed as he stabbed the last, his eyes were instantly on Gadreel.

"No, Cas. It wasn't him."

"How do you know?" she lightly tapped her head "Angel radio, remember?"

* * *

The three now stood in an alley way in some downtown factory district, the smell of soy and several other unknown things permeated the air.

"I had nothing to do with it. I never would have agreed to meet if I thought concealed assassins were going to try and attack you. I hope you know that." Gadreel looked hopeful, an odd expression on the forsaken angel to be sure.

"Why are you telling me this?

"Castiel…" His blue eyes drifted to hers, "Grace, wait in the car."

"Why?"

"Just wait in the car, please?"

"Not until you give me a reason."

"Even though you and I are on opposite sides in this situation, I believe there must be honor, even in matters of war."

"But what happened—doesn't it prove my point about Metatron. Grace, Get in the car."

"No!" the youngest of the Winchesters was incredibly stubborn, he sighed and turned back to Gadreel, "You met with us in good faith, but he lied, and he used you to get at me, and he put her life in danger."

"Castiel—"

"Just as poor judgment undid you all those centuries ago, your mistaken trust in Metatron will bring you down again"

"I gave him my word. Do you expect me to come make war on him?"

"No. Not at all. I want you to stay right where you are. Just give me reports on what Metatron is planning and when he will strike."

"And the honor we were speaking of?"

"Obviously, Metatron has someone inside my camp. It's how he knew we were meeting. Just fighting fire with fire"

"Gadreel, please. Consider our offer?" the other angel looked towards Grace, conflict brewing in his eyes.

"Grace." She stopped as Castiel got into the car. "What is it, Gadreel?"

"You are important, please, be careful." She smiled "We've got this, Gadreel. I'll be just fine. Take care of yourself, all right?" she quickly climbed into the car, leaving the angel in the alley way.

* * *

As they drove down the highway back to HQ she zoned out "Dean…" Castiels eyes drifted over for a moment,

"What about Dean?"

" _A boy and his blade and still not match for the new queen."_

"Grace, what are you seeing?" he kept his eyes on the road, looking over every so often "Dean's got the blade again, he's gone after Abaddon." As the scene played out in her head she saw Dean run the red head through.

"Abaddon is dead…" she saw the blood spray up onto her older brothers face, the anger etched on his features as he stabbed once, twice, three times… "Cas…" the angel pulled the car over on the shoulder.

"Grace? What did you see?"

"Deans losing himself, Cas. He's teetering on the edge, Cain warned him this would happen."

"Dean is one of the strongest men I know. And you Winchesters always bounce back. He'll be fine, have faith."

"Faith, Cas? Faith is something we are in short supply of right now. The angel's are at War, Dean just killed Abaddon…and me…Cas I'm one of the biggest puzzles right now. I'm supposedly some big player in all of this but I don't even know my role other than helping you win this thing."

Castiel was unsure how to respond "You're afraid?"

"I'm terrified, Cas. What if who Metatron claims I am isn't one of the good guys? He seemed to know an awful lot about who this "Avarin" woman was. What if I die before I'm of any use to you and the other angels? Or to my brothers? To this…war?"

"So you have doubts."

"Yes, Cas. I have a lot of doubts, My brother just killed a knight of Hell with no remorse, the Angels have fallen from heaven, we were betrayed today…We need to end this."

"I know we do, and we will, in time."

"How can you be so sure?" Suddenly he was inches from her face, she could smell the woodsy scent of the angel. "Faith is all I have right now, Grace. I have to believe that what we are doing is enough."

"I want to do the same, Cas, But I need time." The dark haired angel started the car again, pulling back onto the road.

"Time is something we do not have a lot of I'm afraid."

* * *

So. That's the end to ch. 20, I hope you all enjoyed, please leave reviews I love hearing from you! You guys are going to hate by the end of part one, but the next chapter has some big secrets revealed, but I'm not telling you anymore than that. do not hate me!


	22. Stair way to heaven (Alt: Ultimatum)

The sound of a slight breeze could be heard throughout the bunker, Death had arrived to deliver a message to the Winchester siblings.

"Sammy, I'm going on a beer run, want anything?"

"Grab some lunch while you're out, kitchen's running low."

"Yeah A'right." As the eldest Winchester rounded the corner he came face to face with the head reaper himself.

"Oh hell…am I dead again?"

"No, Dean. But we have matters to discuss, urgent matters, about your sister."

"What's Grace got to do with this?" to say the eldest sibling had no idea of what was going on involving his sister right now would be an understatement, since the Angel's fell she'd gone on a separate path with Castiel, and last he knew they were running angel HQ.

"Dean, She has to die." He looked taken-a-back, all he wanted right now was an ice cold brewski and to sock this deity in the fucking mouth.

"Like Hell." The head reaper sighed and took a seat at one of the tables.

"Now Dean, We've been over being rude. Just listen to me for a moment." Annoyed Dean took a seat across the table from him, "Why should I listen to anything you have to say?" Death stared at him with sullen, tired eyes, "Grace has a big part to play in this war, and simply cannot do what she is meant to do in her current state."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sam picked the most inopportune moment to walk into the briefing room. "Hey, I thought you were going to the…why is Death here?" god this was beginning to sound like a bad T.V sitcom.

"Greeting's Sam" he turned his attention back to Dean "It means you are the one destined to kill her." Both siblings stared at the reaper now

"No. That's like asking me to kill Sam, or Cas. I would never do that." Sam looked even more confused now "Who's killing who?"

"Death over here thinks I'm just going to kill Grace." One could almost see Sam's head do a full 360 as his eyes fell back on death's fragile form.

"Come now, Dean, our relationship has moved past this point. I know, and you do too, that you will bargain with me. You inevitably always do." And with that he was gone, just as he'd arrived.

"We're gonna need more beer…"

* * *

"Sam, Dean!" both siblings looked over to see their sister, it appeared she took a small page out of the angel fashion book, clad in a pencil skirt, white button up, black tie and a matching jacket,

"Hey, Grace…what are you wearing?"

"Gotta look the part, right? Plus not all of us look good in pants suits and trench coats, Sammy."

"Not quite what I meant but…good to see you." He pulled her in for a hug, Dean stared at her with a pained expression ignoring the fact that she hugged him.

"Cas is inside, it's a mess in there. Thanks for coming out by the way."

"Spears and Aguilera?" Sam gave Cas the 5th degree when they got into the ice cream parlor.

"I've noticed your aliases are usually the names of popular musicians." If the two were ever more annoyed than now it never showed, Grace just laughed as dean shook his head at them.

"Wow. And what are you laughing at, atleast we didn't go with a last name like Perry…"

"Hey, fuck you. Katy Perry is fierce." Sam just gave her a look as if to say 'Really?' she shrugged "Crappy aliases aside, we have a case here."

"Come here, Take a look at this."

"Look." The woman on the stretcher looked like hell, her eyes were burned out, like how Gadreel had left Kevin's corpse.

"The other bodies are the same, burnt-out husks."

"Okay, so what is this, some sort of mass smiting?"

"I don't know what this was. We've never seen anything like it. Six human's died here and one angel." At the very mention of Death, Dean's expression shifted. Cas lifted the sheet over the dead angel.

"He one of yours?"

"Was a good soldier. This attack…I knew he wanted a war, but this…this is abhorrent, even for him."

* * *

"Commander" Hannah was alert as the four stepped back into HQ "Oh, it's just creepy."

"Dean, don't make me get the duct tape again." He ignored her snide remark, actually, he'd been ignoring her since they met up…what was going on?

"Sam, Dean, this is Hannah."

"The Winchester brothers—I've heard so much about you." She smiled at the siblings

"What can I say, Cas is a fan."

"You two look alike, But Grace looks different." Benjamin came to grab the evidence boxes, "I'll start to examine this evidence."

"Well, she's actually our half sibling."

"Y—oh, um…" Sam started to protest as the angel took the box from him, "Sir, this morning, Josiah wasn't at roll call."

"Uh, roll call? You hold, uh, roll call?"

"They like to hear him say their names, it's kind of odd, but endearing." She gave Hannah a grin

"I know a couple of women like that."

"Dean!" again he ignored her

"No one's seen Josiah since Ezra was murdered, we think that—" there was another word associated with Death, Dean's expression shifted.

"You think Josiah's the killer, that he is the mole?"

"Well, who else? We searched the grounds, but he's vanished."

"Not without wings." Grace frowned at him as Hannah crossed her arms. "He's an angel, but he's still gotta travel like he's a human., which means walk, drive—he's gotta leave a trail."

"All right. What was his vessel's name?"

"Sean Flynn, he was from Omaha, Nebraska." As Sam did his computer thing he appeared to have gotten a hit because on the screen was exactly who they were looking for.

"That's him."

"All right. Looks like someone just used his credit card at a Gas'n'Sip in Colorado."

"And that's how we do thing sin the pros." Hannah frowned at him and Grace went to slap him upside the head, but he caught her wrist, keeping his grip tight.

"Dean…"

"Commander." Cas looked at Benjamin "I have something."

"Dean, Ow!" he immediately dropped her wrist when Cas gave him a hard stare, the blonde took a few steps away from Dean.

"This phones memory chip has a video time-stamped just before the explosion." On the video was an angel with a sigil carved into his abdomen "What is he…"

" _I do this for castiel!"_ Grace looked disgusted as the camera shorted out after the on-screen angel stabbed himself.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know. I didn't—"

"Cas would never asked one of our ranks to do such a thing. That's not the kind of leader he is."

"Shut up Grace!" Dean snapped, she flinched away from him,  
"If that's true, why would an Angel blow up a Colonel Scoop's in your name?"

"That's not what he was doing. Roll it back."  
"There. That was an angel, Esther. She's one of Metatron's."

"So, this was some kind of hit?"

"I don't know."

"Stop saying you don't know."

"You can't think Cas would allow something like this, Dean." Without even a second thought he back handed her, knocking her to the floor.

"DEAN!" Sam and Cas were livid at the elder sibling's action. Sam knelt to make sure she was all right as Cas stared his friend down.

"What you got here is a freakin' cult."

"Dean."

"And the last time you had this kind of juice, you did kill humans and angels, and you did nothing but lie to me and Sam about it the whole damn time! and now you've roped her into your little cause." He motioned to Grace who was getting back onto her feet with Sam's help.

"Can we, uh—take this somewhere else, guys?" as soon as Grace had regained her baring's she sucker punched Dean in the jaw, "Fuck you, Dean. Don't you ever touch me again. You wanna be an asshole, fine, be an asshole, but we have bigger issues right now." Sam and Cas watched in shock as she left the bull pen and headed for Cas' office.

* * *

"Will you stow the baggage, Dean? Look, we've got a case. Let's work it. Cas, did you know the angel in that video?"

"Yes. His name was Oren, he was a new recruit. He worked in community outreach."

"What does that mean?"

"Some of the troops are stationed at a local hospital, they help where they can. Minor miracles—it's nothing that would draw attention."

"So, what was with he doing in the video, with the stabbing?"

"The Enochian runes that were carved into his chest—I…I think they were meant to focus energy. When he stabbed himself , it unleashed all that power."

"So what about the girl? What happened to her?"

"If she was the target, if the blast was focused on her, then more likely than not, she—she was atomized." There was a heavy silence in the room "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, you and her don't do jack. Me and Sam will head to the hospital, see if we can't find somebody who knew this…walking nuke."

"Hold on. These are my people. I can help." That's when Dean snapped again. "She is not your people, Cas!" he motioned to Grace who was now sporting a hand shaped bruise on her face.

"She's Human, same as me, same as Sam. Whatever is going on with her, she is not some weapon for you to use to fuel your war."

"She is not human, Dean."

"Right here, guys and why are you being such an asshole, Dean?"

"Grace, can I talk to you in the bull pen for a minute?"

She turned her eyes to Sam "Whatever you have tot ell me you can tell Cas too, we're in this operation together."

"Grace, bullpen. Now." She rolled her eyes "Fine, dad." She stepped out of the room with Sam in tow.

* * *

"So, you got an explanation of why Dean's being a jack ass?"

"It's not my place to tell you, but I need you to trust that it's for your safety."

"So, that's what we're calling back handing me? He's lucky Cas didn't gank him with his angel blade."

"Grace, focus. I really can't tell you what's going on, but he's trying to protect you in his own way, just…don't get pissed at him." She heard the sincerity in her brothers voice "Sam?"

"What?"

"Can I be honest with you?" he narrowed his eyes in concern "Of course, you can always talk to me, Grace."

"Sam, I'm scared. The more time I spend here the more I change, the less Human I feel." Sam's mind wandered back to their discussion with Death himself.

" _Dean, you're the one destined to kill her."_ He was still reeling from the thought that his little sister had to die for this cause, and Death hadn't even told them the reason.

* * *

"Abaddon is dead?" Grace was passed out in the back seat as Sam and Cas conversed in the front seat.

"And then some. At least now she can't wear Grace as a meat suit."

"Oh, No."

"Okay. Um…Ominous."

"I'm glad that she's safe, but…does Dean seem different to you?"

"Yeah. Lately, he seems to be…amped up—you know, on edge."

"Effects of the mark?"

"What else?"

"He does seem Angry, I mean, he's always a little angry, but regardless he didn't have to take it out on her." The angel turned to looked at Grace as she slept.

"Cas…Death paid us a visit this morning."

"The Horseman? Why?"

"I…Uh, He said something this morning and it really got Dean worked up."

"What did he say, Sam?"

"he said that, uh—that Grace had to die."

"Die?"

"Yeah, and Dean will to be the one to do it. Death's exact words were that she has a big part to play in this war, and simply cannot do what she is meant to do in her current state."

"Her current state? I'll admit things have been a bit abnormal for her, with everything going on, but she's shown no signs of fatigue or sickness."

"I don't think that's what he meant, Cas. What's going on has been weird, those other angel's, the way they stare at you and her for that matter, it's like you're part rock star, part L. Ron"

"They've put their faith in us. And they believe in her. She's done nothing to bring them doubt." Sam couldn't help but smile at the sound of fondness in the angel's voice.

"That may be the problem. I mean, people have been doing messed up crap in the name of faith—in the name of god—since forever."

"Well…I'm not trying to play god. I'm just trying to get my people home."

* * *

"Yeah, I saw him, officer. He filled up some old, uh, woody station wagon."

"I don't suppose you got the license plate number of that station wagon?" Cas looked confused and slightly upset that his mate appeared to be flirting with this green day wanna-be. Sam rolled his eyes as his sister tried to get information out of the station attendant quicker. The kid laughed "No. but he was headed to an address in pray, Montana"

"How do you know that?"

"Guy asked for directions."

"Oh"

"Uh, you want me to write that down?" Annoyed with the situation, Cas nodded his head, "Yes."

"That would be wonderful, thank you…Jimmy…" the irony made her laugh a bit considering that was Castiel's vessels name.

"Now. Please." Jimmy wrote down the information and they left, Grace with a bag of snacks for the road.

* * *

"That looks like the car that the guy at the gas station was talking about, right? Maybe Josiah's still around." Grace climbed out of the car, pushing the seat back into place before closing the door.

"Sam, this place is…"

"Radiating power…I feel sick…"

"I haven't felt anything like this since…since heaven. We have to get in here." Sam tried the door but it wouldn't budge, pulling out his lock pick kit he tried to unlock the door that way.

"Step aside. I got this." This wasn't going to end well…the last time Grace had heard him utter those words he broke the sink in their apartment…

"Cas I don't think that's—"

"I got this." She rose her hands in the air in defeat as Cas slammed his shoulder into the door several times before trying the handle again. "…I don't got this." Grace rolled her eyes.

"I told you…Gimme your lock pick Sam and one of your old cards."

"What?"

"Don't make me ask again, Sam. Trust me." He sighed and handed over the items she asked for, watching her work.

"So, there are enochian symbols all over this wall, I think it's a riddle." Sam narrowed his eyes in confusion again, "Why is six afraid of seven? Now, I assume it's because seven is a prime number, and prime numbers can be intimidating." Grace just shook her head, all Metatron's work to catch him up on the world and pop culture and he can't even figure out a simple child's riddle…

"It's because seven eight nine, Cas…" the door suddenly opened.

"Are you serious right now…"

"It's wordplay…"

"No shit… The answers are the key."

"Like the doors of Durin in "Lord of the rings.""

"Wait a second. You know about "the lord of the rings?"" Grace sighed, "We don't have time Sam…"

"I'm very pop-culture savvy now." As Sam stepped away to take a call, Cas rounded on Grace.

"What was that back at the station?" Grace could see his wings flare, "Why are you mad? I was just trying to get info…"

"By fraternizing?" her eyes were wide, "Are you jealous, Cas?" his wings flared again, affirming her suspicion "You are!"

"I'm not jealous of some greasy teenager."

"Don't Lie, Cas."

"Angel's never Lie, Grace." She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Of course they don't, but you're not like other Angel's Cas, you've been human. You've done what you need to to survive, just as we do, so cut the holier than thou attitude, all right?" He ruffled his feathers and Grace out a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Things are tense, Cas, I understand. But we don't need to be fighting amongst ourselves, I was just trying to get information, I have no interest in the kid form the gas station." It was like talking to a child, but she knew he was just trying to keep her safe.

"I'm…sorry."

"I know." She smiled at him as Sam hung up th phone and they stepped into the warehouse.

"You sure you don't wanna go back, Cas? Look, if Dean is right about Tessa…"

"No, I, uh…I do. I just…give me a second" there was carvings etched into the wall, ""Only the penitent man shall pass"? Cas wait!" the sound of a power saw blade snapped Grace back to reality as Castiel ducked just in time.

"It's like the last crusade…"

* * *

"We found it."

"What?"

"It's the door to heaven." Something felt off, as Sam and Castiel headed towards the door Grace stayed rooted to her spot.

"Seriously?"

"What else would Metatron got o such great length to protect? I can hear it, it's calling to me. If we control this door, we can take the fight to Metatron. We may not even need to fight at all."

"Cas, wait." He turned to Face the blonde, her eyes showed she was pleading with him not to go, but when he opened the door all she saw was what looked like a crappy homeschool prom set…

"What the hell?" Grace stepped up behind him, Sam walked forward to see a place card in the buffet table.

"Welcome to your own personal heaven, Castiel. Good luck finding the real one."

"But…why?" Both Sam and Cas were startled by Grace, "Oh my god! Guys…I think I found Josiah…"

"He reeks of Holy oil." Grace followed her brothers eyes to two empty jars hanging above the door way.

"Yeah. Looks like he got "Home alone"-ed"

"So, all of this—it was a lie." Grace screamed as Josiah's torched hand grabbed her wrist. "—Supposed to be here…Gate….he told me…after Ezra, he told me I should come to him. Metatron told me I could go home. I just wanted to go home."

"Josiah…"

"I know who you really are, Grace Winchester" the blonde froze at his words, "What are you talking about, why does everyone keep saying that to me?"

"You are far from Human, That much Castiel has right." Grace looked at Castiel, wondering exactly how much he knew, if anything more than this. The aforementioned angel knelt beside her. "There are entire universes in your eyes, Grace, you just can't see it yet."

"Here, let me—" Castiel reached out to touch Josiah's forehead,

"No! I would rather die than owe my life to you, Castiel. You play at being noble. You play at being one of us but I look into your eyes…and I don't see an angel staring back at me." With that, Josiah was gone.

* * *

"He put up a fight." Cas and Grace walked into the interrogation room, "I told you duct tape was a gift, Well done Hannah." Cas walked towards his friend,

"Get out." Hannah and a few others left t hem alone as Sam ripped the tape from Dean's face.

"You should have seen the other ten guys." He had a cocky grin on his face, much to their dismay "They said you killed Tessa?"

"Not so much. She knifed herself" Sam uncuffed him.

"Yeah?/ why would she do that, Dean?"

"I don't know, Sam. She was saying all kinds of crap."

"So that's why you brought out the first blade?"

"They told you about that, huh?" he finally looked at Grace fir the first time since they'd come to HQ

"Yeah, Dean. They kind of told us everything. If you hadn't brought that stupid blade, Tessa would still be alive. Without her, we ain't got jack."

"Yeah, you think I don't know that? You think I wanted that to happen?"

"I don't know, Dean. did you?" Dean stared her down, trying to intimidate her enough so she'd back off.

"All right, that's enough. Stop it. Grace, take a walk." She stared Dean down for another moment before leaving, slamming the door closed behind her.

* * *

When she came back into the bull pen a familiar voice drifted into her ears. "What I did was neither good, nor bad. It was necessary—a small hardship to…make us all stronger, to make us a family again"

"Except for the angels you had Gadreel kill." Metatron's eyes drifted to the youngest Winchester sibling, "Ah, Avarin, so good to see you."

"I don't know who this Avarin woman you keep referring to me as is, but I'll only ask once, you call me grace when you address me, nothing else. I'm not playing your games, I am not a pawn in your little story, you pompous, cowardly sack of feathers. While you hide up there in the clouds, your brother's and sister's perish on the earth."

"Look at me, I'm quaking, Grace. The time will come when you remember who you are in this story, and I can't wait until you find out who it is that brings you to that point. Your boyfriend is running on stolen Grace, and when that burns out, so will he."

"He did what he had to after you STOLE his grace to cause the fall in the first place, Metatron. You Lied to sell your cause, to spread fear among your people, now we've finally given them some piece of mind and you are trying to break us apart. Your father should be ashamed of you."

"My father should be ashamed of all of us. oh and Dean, I hear Death paid you a visit, you should just end it so the story can continue." And with that the line cut.

"Dean? What was he talking about." There was unrest with the angels "Death came to you?"

"Grace, I—"

"What did he say Dean?" Dean couldn't bring himself to look at her, "Dean?"

"I can't, Grace. I'm sorry." With that he shoved past her and left to get some fresh air. "Cas?"

"Grace…I know why he's so angry, he's just trying to protect you."

"So you know…you've known the whole time what Death told him, but you won't tell me either. I guess I can't trust any of you…can I?" the pain was so clear in her eyes, and it killed him to see her this way,

"You told me earlier that angels don't lie, Cas…but you've been lying all day. What else are you keeping from me?" with that being said she grabbed her jacket and left.

Castiel remained standing in the bull pen after her, he had royally fucked this up and he knew it, and Now grace was gone, and he didn't know if she was coming back this time.


	23. Reichenbach

It had been months since Sam or Cas had seen Grace, since she'd left Angel HQ after Metatron's tirade. The Army had left and so had she, but Cas only blamed himself. Dean was gone, masquerading with Crowley, in some last ditch effort to forget he had to kill his own sister.

"Hey, I think we've got a hit on Grace. Someone last said they saw a woman matching her description in Telluride, Colorado.

"Telluride? Why would she hide there?"

"If you wanna stay gone you hide in small towns, Cas. She's just better at hiding than most." Sam closed his laptop and grabbed his coat, "Looks like we're going to Colorado."

* * *

"Good morning, Olivia." Grace smiled at the elderly woman, "Good morning Missus Polz, what can I get for you today?"

"I'll have one of those raspberry scones, to go of course." The old woman smiled, Grace had come to love Missus Polz, she was so kind.

"Of course. So what are your plans for the day, Mrs. Polz?" she busied herself with picking out the nicest looking pastry they had from the display case and put it into the oven to warm it up.

"I'm just doing some shopping for my Grand-son's birthday, he's turning twelve you know." She smiled again, Andrew was such a sweet little boy, he and his mother would also come in on occasion. Grace fished a slice of Andrew's favorite cake out of the display too, "Give him this from me? Tell him Olivia says happy birthday."

"Of course, dear." With that she paid for her item and left as Grace put five dollars in the register for the slice of cake.

"Hello, Grace." Her eyes landed on someone she didn't want to see, "I thought I was pretty well off the Radar. How'd you find me?"

"Sam found you. I just followed the trail."

"Well, I wish you'd follow it right back to Lebanon, Cas." Hurt was clear on the angel's face, but pain was more evident on hers.

"Grace, I—"

"Olivia." He looked confused "I go by Olivia here, Olivia Sandel. I work in this Bakery and I know every customer who comes through that door. I'm not going Back, Castiel, not when all that's waiting for me is Lies and deceit."

"Olivia, can you put in a new try of Macadamia nut cookies? We're running low."

"Sure thing, Lindsay." She turned back to Castiel, "If you wanna talk, come back after my shift is done at 5."

"I could just wait here."

"No. I don't need you here as a distraction." The angel took the hint and left as Grace slid a few trays of cookies into the oven.

"I'll be back at 5."

"Whatever." Grace watched as he disappeared down the sidewalk to who knows where.

* * *

"All right Cas, you got 15 minutes. That's all I'm giving you." She had gone to wear he'd told her to meet him, some shabby bed and breakfast, but at least it had a nice air about it, everything in Telluride seemed to have a homey feel.

"Grace…" She turned to see Hannah "Was this a set up?" Castiel looked alarmed, "What?"

"A set up, Castiel. Did you bring me here to try and convince me to rejoin your cause?"

"Grace, that's not why either of us are here. We're here to keep you safe."

"Safe?" she scoffed, the idea was laughable, "Safe from what?"

"Dean." She rolled her eyes "What's Dean going to do to me? Other than knock me around some more."

"Grace, this isn't a joke. What Death told Dean that day…it wasn't good news and we already had so much to deal with, I didn't want to add to it. "

"Spit it out, Cas."

"You have to die…and Dean, Dean has to be the one to kill you, with the first blade." Her eyes creased in confusion "You expect me to believe that Death, the horseman, came to tell my brother that he has to kill me."

"Grace, your brother is gone…" she rounded on Hannah, "Gone, what do you mean, Gone?"

"He's a demon." She stopped, turning back to face Castiel, "A demon? But he wouldn't…" any hostility she may have felt towards the angels was gone, now replaced with emotions he couldn't place.

"We're going to South Dakota tonight, are you coming?" Grace looked between the two with uncertainty.

"Cas, Hannah…Look, here is the safest place I've ever been. There's nothing supernatural here, no demon's, no monsters, just people living their lives, as it should be…I can't just put myself back into the fray."

"Grace, I know that you want to be normal, that you want to lead an ordinary human life, but if what Metatron claims to be true is…you're not one of them." He narrowed his eyes in a familiar fashion as she stared back, torn.

"Give me a few hours Cas…I'll be ready to leave by 7 sharp. Come by this address." She grabbed her purse and left the angels in the bed and breakfast.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

"If you wanted to stay behind…" Both angels had waited to talk about the elephant in the…car? Until the blonde had dozed off, her head rested on her duffle bag which was propped against the back door.

"I didn't. I just…Castiel…we're bringing her to her death."

"Hannah, whatever is going to happen, has to happen. I may not like it, but if we can win this war then…so be it."

"But she has to die…for us."

"I'm not afraid of death, Hannah." Her voice was gravelly as she roused from sleep, Cas swerved the car slightly, shocked she had been listening in.

"It sucks that I have to die, sure, but if it means you all can go home, then whatever, right? No tears shed on my account. In the big picture, I'm a nobody hunter, born to a nobody family…no one is going to miss me, right?" Hannah was uncertain how to respond.

"That's not true. You will be missed by many, whether they admit to it or not." Cas had gone oddly quiet the sudden light from an oncoming semi made her heart race.

"CAS!" he woke up again just quick enough to swerve out of the way, bringing the car up into the rocky roadside.

* * *

Thank god someone had come across their car, she had towed them back to her home, apparently, she did car repairs.

"I'm gonna have to run into town for a new set of tires. Could take a while. You want to head inside and watch some TV or something, you're more than welcome. Oh, and there's left over three-bean surprise in the fridge, if you're hungry."

"You're very kind." The woman shrugged "Well, it makes up for me being an ax murderer and all." Hannah looked terrified, but Grace just laughed.

"It was a joke, Hannah…relax." The angel looked to her "Ah, I see." Castiel closed the truck door, smiling appreciatively at the woman who'd towed them.

"Thank you for everything." Once inside the house, Cas shed his trench coat and went for the couch.

"Cas? Are you all right?" she'd only ever seen the angel sleep when he was human,

"I understand the three beans, but…what's the surprise?" Grace couldn't help but laugh,

"Well…whenever Sam makes it, it's the Gas it gives you…s'why I never eat it." Hannah looked disgusted as she came into the living room to find Castiel asleep on the couch.

"Wanna put his trench coat over him? He always get's cold when he does this." Hannah nodded, draping the tan jacket over Cas' sleeping body.

"You must care for him a lot to know something like that." Grace sat in the arm chair next to the now sleeping angel.

"We lived together for a while after the fall first happened, he blames himself you know. He never meant for any of this to happen."

"I know."

"He's doing everything he can to make sure you all get back home, and I'm going to be right behind him…even if—" she paused for a minute, Hannah's blue eyes watched her as she stared at Castiel.

"If? If what Grace?"

"Even if it means Dying, Hannah. You guy's need heaven, He needs heaven right now, he's drained and he can't keep stealing grace to survive. Point is, we have to find Dean so this can end."

* * *

The sound of Saturday morning cartoons roused her from her sleep, a little girl was sitting next to Cas watching the T.V and eating what looked to be dry Lucky charms.

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Did you have a good dream?" there was definite awkwardness as the little girl drilled him "Aw, Cas made a friend. She's adorable."

"Well, I, uh…I don't really dream."

"Why? One time, I dreamed that my snot was a rocket, and it shot into space and knocked down the stars to make room for more rockets." Cas smiled and leaned down closer to the child's face "That sounds like some very special snot." Grace just laughed at him as the girl offered Cas some of her cereal, the angel looked uncertain.

"Don't be rude, Cas." Grace smiled, "That's very nice of you, sweetheart." The little girl grinned back, "Your girlfriends are pretty." Cas choked on the piece of cereal and the girls mother and Hannah laughed.

"You should be good to go."

"We appreciate that."

* * *

"A park? Cas…where did Hannah take us?"

"I, uh…I don't know" Cas undid his seatbelt, "Wait here."

"Cas, we've been over this."

"Please, listen to me for once!" she flinched away from him, "Stay in the car, it's not safe here."

"so what? I'm dying for your cause, Castiel!" now it was his turn to flinch away "Fine but stay close." Both climbed out of the car and stepped into the playground.

"Hannah!"

"She's gone, Castiel. She took the express elevator upstairs." There was a plump, elderly looking woman sitting on the near-by bench, what she was reading Grace couldn't tell.

"To heaven? why?" the woman refused to answer then it dawned on her.

"Your grace…"

"What?" he stared at Grace, noticing the small fleck of gold showing through, "She went to bargain with Metatron, she's trying to get your grace back."

"We have to go."

"Go?" Grace looked terrified, she didn't want anything to do with the chaos that was up there right now.

"We have to, Grace. He'll find a way to convince Hannah to let him out."

"Cas…I can't."

"You can." She looked between the portal and Castiel a few times before finally giving in.

* * *

"And in return…you and little Gracie get Cas back at full power—Large and in charge. And that's what you really want, isn't it? Somebody big and strong telling you what to do. Poor little Hannah. You're so desperate to be dominated." Grace looked at Castiel from just around the corner.

"Looks like we found them…" the dark haired angel nodded, signaling to stay put for now.

"Ow!" some part of Grace enjoyed Metatron's suffering, after all he'd put them through he was finally where he belonged.

"watch your mouth." Grace flinched at the sound of contact being made with the cell bars,

"Ah. Like I said—white-hot spark. So, do we have a deal?"

"No. What are you doing?" Cas was livid, "Ugh. You know perfectly well what she's doing, Ass-tiel." Grace frowned as she stepped out of her own hiding place.

"Ah, the lady of the hour, how did you get into heaven, surely Dean hasn't killed you yet." She ignored his digs at the current family situation.

"I had to. You are dying."

"She's right. You totally are."

"You shut up!"

"He said your grace—it's still out there."

"He's lying. He is a liar." Metatron looked shocked and mildly hurt, "Hey, words hurt!"

"Shut up!" Metatron rolled his eyes at her and walked back towards the cell window.

"Listen to me, Hannah. You don't want this. I have seen what—I've made deals born of desperation, and they always end in blood and tears—Always."

"So I'm supposed to let you…"

"Yes." Grace stood back away from the two arguing energies, Cas seemingly forgetting he'd brought Grace with him.

"It's my life, and it's my choice. And I don't want this."

"So my efforts will be for nothing…" Castiel and Hannah both turned towards Grace. "My death…Dying for YOUR people…it will all be a waste?"

"Grace I…"

"You're the same…both you and Metatron wanted martyrs for your cause and you don't give a fuck who gets hurt in the cross fire. I didn't come here with you so you could die, Castiel! I came here so you could live!"

"Ooh, Drama. Real life is so much better than Television." She rounded on the graying angel now, "And you! This is all YOUR fault! If you hadn't taken his grace in the first place, none of this ever would have happened."

"You're welcome." Metatron smiled slightly

"Fuck you. I'm going back to Telluride, tell Dean if he wants me, then he can come find me." The angel's watched her go.

* * *

"Grace!" The blonde Winchester stepped out of the portal back into the playground.

"Leave me alone, Castiel." He grabbed her by the wrist, spinning her to face him, "We will find my grace, but we will not do it with him." Blue met Blue and Cas finally understood what Josiah had meant when he claimed to have seen Galaxies in her eyes.

"Amazing…he was right." She rolled her eyes at him, "Flattery is not gonna help you now, Cas. Do you understand how fucked up what just happened was?"

"Yes I—I understand completely. But I need you to help me with this."

* * *

Dean sat playing a beat up, out of tune Piano at a dive bar, his mind reeling back to his conversation with Crowley after he'd killed Lester. Pulling out the first blade he sliced down the palm of his hand, eyes flashing black.

" _What are you, Dean? A demon? Maybe you're a human. Pick a bloody side!"_ the cut on deans hand sealed itself within seconds as his eyes flashed back to green. "Hiya, Sam. Hey, Harv, why don't you go grab a smoke?" the bald bar keep didn't waste a second, clearing out of the bar.

"Who winged ya?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really. I told you to let me go." Dean knocked back another whiskey as he stared at his younger brother

"You know I can't do that. By the way, your, uh, pal Crowley…sold you out."

"Sounds like him. Grace with you?" he pulled the blade off the grand piano, it would seem he was willing to do what he had to now, with little or no remorse.

"Dean, hold on a second. You don't have to do this."

"Really, Sam? Because I want to do this, I want to kill her, being human sucks, man."

"Look, we know how to cure demons, remember that?"

"Little Latin, lot of blood. It rings a bell. Did you ever stop to think that if I wanted to be cured, I wouldn't have bailed?"

"That was Crowley."

"It really wasn't" Dean poured himself another drink, "It doesn't matter, all right? 'cause whatever went down, whatever happened, we will fix it."

"Will we? 'cause right now I'm doing all I can not to come over there and rip your throat out…with my teeth. Maybe when we're done here I'll go find Grace. I'm giving you a chance, Sam, you should take it."

"I'm gonna have to pass." Sam stared at his brother, he knew for a fact Dean would never hurt a hair on their sisters head, he was just using this as an intimidation tactic.

"Well, I'm not walking out that door with you. I'm just not. So, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna kill me?"

"No."

"Why. You don't know what I've done. I might have it coming.

"Well, I don't care. Because you are my brother and I'm here to take you home."

"He's not Dean anymore, Sam… don't even bother trying to reason with him." Sam and Dean both turned to see Grace.

"Grace, you shouldn't be here."

"Why not, Sam? I'm destined to die anyways, might as well let him kill me now." There it was, for a split second, their brother was back, the pain in his eyes said it all as Sam fished something out of his pocket.

"You really think those are gonna work?"

"There's one way to find out." Something crashed through the window filling the room with gas. Dean looked between his brother and sister, Grabbing the latter he dragged her through the back door and outside into the fresh air as Sam went the other way.

"Grace. Grace, Breath." She sputtered as fresh air stung her lungs "The irony…Dean the demon…saving his little sister…Guess there's still some Humanity in you after all."

"Stay here." He propped her up against the nearby station wagon and went out to meet their attacker.

"Wow. It's really you."

"We met?"

"Talked on the phone."

"Right, Right. You're the guy who's supposed to put a bullet in Sammy's brain. Did you miss that my sister was in that room too?"

"My condolences, but I had a better idea. I figure if I let your bro escape, he'd go running to you, and all I had to do was just tag along. I didn't even know you boys had a sister. But here we are, finally—Dean Winchester."

"Great. A groupie."

"You remember me?" Cole had a gun, cocked and ready to fire. "Yeah, yeah. You're that guy from that thing."

"Nyack, New York, June 21st, 2003."

"That supposed to ring a bell?"

"It was the night you gutted and murdered a man by the name of Edward Trenton. He was my father." Dean shrugged, shaking his head like he didn't care, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Well, hey, I'm not saying I didn't slice and dice your old man. I'm just saying he wasn't the first, and he certainly wasn't the last, and they all just kind of get blended up."

"I saw you…that night…after. you let me live. That was dumb—that was real dumb. I spent half my life training for this moment. I've played out this fight a thousand times in my mind and I know all about you, Dean-o. and you're good. Oh, you're real good. But, you see, I'm better." Dean noticed Cole was inching closer towards Grace until he was in grabbing range.

"Prove it. Take a shot."

"Now, that's not payback." He grabbed her, pulling her up by her hair as he placed a blade to the blonde's throat "This is payback." Dean swung at him, Cole kept his hold on Grace's hair, pulling out a large chunk of it as Dean slammed into the car, Grace hit the pavement.

"You know, and I'm just spit-balling here, but, uh, maybe…you are not as good as you think you are. Oh! You know kung fu?"

"I know everything."

"Well, come on." As Cole and Dean fought with each other Grace stayed still on the pavement, trying to get her brain to focus, she spotted Sam run into the bar just as Dean laid the guy out flat.

"What did you think was gonna happen, huh? You just stroll up here and say "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," and I'd just roll over? Well, that's just—it makes me sad" Grace caught sight of the knife Cole was pulling from his jacket.

"Dean!" she clumsily knocked him out of the way as Cole swung, catching her leg as the siblings toppled to the ground. Dean struck, grabbing Cole by the neck, "You've hurt my sister twice now…You have no idea what you walked into here, do you? None."

"What are you?"

"I'm a demon." And the fight resumed as Dean kicked the guy around the small parking lot, pulling out the blade as he held Cole in place.

"Do it! You said if you saw me, you would kill me, so do it!" Dean smirked sardonically

"I guess I changed my mind." This was the exact moment Sam doused Dean with holy water and slapped the demon cuffs on him.

"Stop! It's over!

* * *

Dean turned to look at Grace who was applying pressure to the sizable Gash she now sported on her leg.

"Why'd you do it?"

"Why do I do anything I do for you two? We're family Dean, plain and simple. You saved me when he launched the tear gas, I saved you from getting knifed, that makes us square, but it hardly makes us even."

"I don't like this situation anymore than you do, Grace, but there's no getting around it."

"Then just end it already, then demon you can go back to hell where he belongs, and I can…do whatever comes next."

"How can you be so okay with this?" Dean watched as Sam and Crowley exchanged words outside, "I'm not okay with anything, Dean…I'm just tired of living like this."

"I'm trying my hardest…to make sure you live, Grace. Maybe I let Sammy cuff me so I didn't hurt you."

"Then stop. I don't need my big brother to save me anymore." Crowley left with the demon blade as Sam got into the Car.

"So…back home?"

"Whatever."


	24. Dearly Departed

"You know when I get out of here, it's game over for you, right?"

"Whatever you say, Dean-o. you're not going to kill me." His eyes flashed black again, "You can count on it, sweetheart."

"I know you, Dean. You'd have done it by now if you were going to." Sam had secured him tightly to the chair in the dungeon. Grace leaned down so she was eye level with him "If you're gonna do it, I'll untie you right now so we can end this. But if not, shut up." He lunged at her, teeth bared, she just laughed "Aww, All bark and no bite, I hope Sammy has fun fixing you." She turned and walked out of the holding cell, running right into Sam.

"Grace? How's he doing?"

"Cocky as usual, at least that hasn't changed. Hey, Sammy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't rough him up too bad, he's still dean under all of that." He smiled at her, he had always wondered how she managed to keep such a bright outlook.

"Don't worry Gracie, I'm not going to hurt him." She smiled back before clapping him on his good shoulder.

"I'm gonna go try and find Cas."

"He's actually on his way back."

* * *

As she sat in the briefing room she got a flash of some gas station "Lil' Levi's?" she almost knew what was about to happen as she saw Castiel and Hannah, and in an instance was flat on her back between the two angels.

"All right…really wish I could figure out how that happens…I don't even have wings…"

"Grace?"

"How did you…?" She looked at Hannah as Castiel pulled her up off the ground, "I really wish I knew…"

Hannah turned to walk into the station, leaving the two alone in awkward silence, "Trouble in Paradise, Cas?"

"No. no trouble." She smiled "So, you two got lost, I assume…judging from the stop for gas."

"Yes, we, uh…we took a wrong turn somewhere."

"Yeah, I can see that." Grace smirked "You know…for a millennia old entity…you're terrible with directions." He narrowed his eyes at her but her grin still remained.

"All right then, if you're so good with directions what would you have done?" she quirked her brow "Well for starters…I would have bought a GPS, much more reliable than a map."

"A GPS?"

"Stands for Global Positioning System. It tells you directions step by step so you don't get lost. And given your situation…" she wondered what was taking Hannah so long.

"I know, Grace. I'm trying but I won't feed off another angel again" sighing the blonde sat on the hood of the car, "Cas…if I knew of another solution I'd have all the answers and you wouldn't be in this mess." He stood in front of her, a gentle hand cupping her face.

"I know. But honestly I'm more worried about you." She frowned, knowing he was talking about the inevitable "I know, but I wish you would worry about yourself, Cas. Hannah's been in there for a while…" his eyes drifted to the station and the two of them hurried inside, only to find Hannah held at knife point.

"Hey, there. I've been tracking you for days. And look, you brought your little girlfriend." The blonde angel scoffed, giving grace a once over before letting her eyes fall back on Castiel, "You will be punished for what you did."

"Daniel's death—that was unintentional, Adina. I feel you know this."

"Unintentional? You killed him!" she threw Hannah to the side and lunged at Grace and Castiel, Castiel had his blade out, but both parties could see just how weak the angel really was.

"Seriously?" Grace put a hand on his shoulder "Cas, let me." She gingerly took the blade from his hand as Adina lunged, Grace shot her leg out, kicking her back into one of the displays.

"Uh-uh, he's mine." She grinned, slicing in an upwards motion at the woman's neck, Adina struck again, her blade nicked Grace's cheek, but in that moment The Winchester grabbed the woman by her head and slammed her face down onto the customer service counter before throwing her out the door.

"Hannah, Get cas!" the brunette scurried to her feet and grabbed her former commander, guiding him back to the car. As soon as She'd finished with Adina there was nothing left but an empty vessel at the now deserted gas station.

"We need to go." And that was when Crowley showed up.

"Just fucking fantastic…What do you want, Crowley?"

"Nothing from you, kitten." Grace frowned at the nickname "Just here to help and old friend." He stepped over to Adina who was passed out on the ground, surrounded by the busted up glass from the door and slit her throat, stealing her Grace."

"Crowley, what the fuck?"

"Sheath the claws." She frowned "One more fucking cat joke outta you and I swear to whatever god there is…"

"Cas is dying, Grace. I figure you of all people would want him to live." She narrowed her eyes, a habit she'd picked up from the angel himself, but watched as he forced Cas to take the stolen Grace.

* * *

Sam had Dean at knife point when Castiel finally popped himself and grace into the bunker and grabbed him, they'd been playing cat and mouse for who knows how long since they had arrived back at the bunker.

"Dean, It's over" Cas kept a firm hold on him as grace came to face him "Dean?" he let out a guttural growl at both his friend and his siblings.

"Dean…Look at me, please?" all that stared back at her were black eyes but they were still looking at her.

"Dean…no more." Her voice was barely a whisper as he let out another demonic roar, trying to lunge at her, she was ready for him, ready to die, but Cas refused to relent his grip as they forced her older brother back into the dungeon.

* * *

"What the hell are we doing to him, Cas? I mean, even after I gave him all that blood, he still said he didn't want to be cured, that he didn't want to be human."

"Well…I see his point. You know, only humans can feel real joy, but…also such profound pain. This is easier." Grace sat propped against the far wall as Dean finally came too.

"You look worried, fellas" Grace stared at him with a hard expression before standing.

"Grace?" she kept her expression firm as Sam splashed him with Holy water, when nothing happened the youngest sibling left, Sam, Dean and Cas watching curiously, "Welcome back, Dean." Cas turned to follow the blonde, knowing his friend was all right gave him peace of mind.

"Grace, wait." She didn't stop walking "What do I do, Cas?" The angel was confused,

"I don't understand."

"I still have to die, whether Dean is Human or Demon. Demon Dean could have finished the job, Castiel, but Human Dean…He won't kill his baby sister." She rounded the corner heading towards her room,

"Dean will do what he has to."

"I don't have the same faith in him that you do." She turned down another corridor and he once again followed.

"It would have been easier if you'd have let him go when Sam had him cornered."

"You would ask me to watch you die?" she almost laughed "You have been making me watch you die since the fall, if Crowley hadn't stolen Adina's grace for you—"

"Grace…I'm sorry."

"Are you Castiel?" He knew there was a deeper meaning to this conversation now, as she rarely used the angel's full name anymore.

"People die for less, every day. That's just how our world works. At least I would be saving someone if I died. Can you say the same?" with that she opened the door to her room and stepped inside, leaving the Angel out in the hallway alone.

* * *

"Sam?"

"What's up, Cas." He wasn't sure how to bring up the topic.

"We may have solved one problem, but two still remain. Dean's no longer a demon. That's true. But the mark of Cain—that, he still has, and he still has to fulfil what death has tasked him with." The tension in the room grew, it had taken time for the angel to come to terms with it

"Dean Killing…Grace." Sam seemed contemplative, "I know he won't do it willingly, not now that we cured him."

"I know."

"So, what do we do?"

"I'm…not sure. But Metatron insisted she was the key to finding God and restoring heaven."

"You know what, Cas, I'm beat, man. one battle at a time, you know?" The Sam chuckled, clearly exhausted. "So I'm just gonna go grab my brother some cholesterol. And then I'm gonna get drunk." With that the middle sibling turned and left the bunker.

* * *

"Grace." Dean stood in her doorway, she looked up at her older brother, "Hey, Dean." She noticed he had some pictures, old polaroid's from the looks of it.

"What are those?" dean looked at the portraits "Photos of mine and Sam's mom, some of her with dad, a few of the two of us." He took a seat on the edge of the bed, "You would have loved her, she was the best." Grace had never heard him talk about his and Sam's mom before, they only ever talked about their shared parent.

Dean handed her the pictures, she just smiled "You don't have to share this with me, they're your memories, Dean."

"I know, but given the circumstances…Maybe you could tell her Hi for Sammy and I?" Grace looked at him "Dean…who's to say I'll even get to heaven? I know Metatron's locked away now but…"

"Hey, no sad faces." She laughed at him "Whatever you say Dean-o, if I make it to heaven I'll give her your message, I promise."

"Tomorrow…Tomorrow we'll do this. Find out what comes next." Grace nodded, solemnly, "Tomorrow after breakfast…and no one tells Sam or Cas."

"No one tells Cas What?" there was the angel himself, she silently cursed, "I can't tell you, it'd ruin the surprise." He did his famous head tilt and she grinned "Don't worry yourself over it, Cas. Please?" he nodded, turning to walk back down the hallway.

"Why'd you lie to him?" she shook her head and looked down at the Polaroid's "He deserves to be happy, things are quiet, and I know he'll just try and stop it, Sam too."

"You're not wrong, Short stack. All right, we tell no one." He leaned back against the headboard and Grace snuggled up to him.

"I'm sorry, Dean."

"Sorry?"

"That it had to be you…that it always seems to be you. That you were meant to be Michael's vessel and Sam was meant to be Lucifer's, that you got stuck with the Mark of Cain, that you went full Demon…it always seems to be you."

"Yeah, well we're past all that now, so let's leave it."

"One more thing." Dean looked down at her, " When Cole attacked you at the bar, you had a shot…why didn't you take it?" Dean smiled and fished something out of his pocket, "This picture." She looked surprised

"A picture?"

"Not just any picture, that's the day Sammy and I found out you existed." Her mind wandered backwards to that day and she smiled, "You kept a little bit of humanity in me, Grace."

"I remember this day, Dad had swung by to check and see If my mom was still alive, found out he had a daughter and insisted on taking a picture with the three of us."

"You had the biggest smile, missing your two front teeth—and that Lopsided hack job you'd done to your bangs."

"But I was so happy."

"Sam was happy too, that was the day he found out he wasn't the youngest anymore." They looked down at the photograph "Can I keep this, Dean?"

"Of course. But I want it back someday." She smiled sadly "I know."

"Hey, no sad faces. Let's get Sam and Cas and go get plastered. It's my little sis' last night on earth, tonight we party." And that was exactly what they did.

* * *

"What's the occasion?" they were sat at a dumpy little bar, but no one was really around "Well, I'm human again, Cas is back…sort of, I think we earned a celebration, Both Sam and Cas shared a look, the Angel narrowed his eyes with uncertainty but asked no further questions as the waitress served them their beers.

"To finally catching a break." The four rose their glasses, Dean ad Cas started a drinking contest which Grace actually won in the end, she had no idea how she'd even gotten entered, but who cared, she was going to die tomorrow.

"There was one time when Grace was Seven…" Sam had started to tell a story, smashed off his ass after his 13th beer.

"Dad was so pissed."

"Yeah, Clara was pretty pissed too" Graces expression shifted a bit at the mention of her mother.

"Hey, Uh, I'm go get some air." Sam and Dean caught her expression, But Cas was the one who stood, "I'll watch her."

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey, Cas."

"Your mother, she was special to you?" Grace smiled "Yeah, she was…I sometimes wonder if she went to heaven or if she went to Hell." Her eyes drifted up to the stars "I always hoped that it was where the lights were the brightest." Cas stared at her, wonder evident on his face "She's up there, Grace, so is Bobby." She smiled.

"Thanks so much for everything, Cas." She leaned her head on his shoulder and he draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close, breathing in the smell of her floral shampoo and vanilla body soap.

"You shouldn't be sad, we're celebrating." She just smiled "I guess I've just had too much, then." He ran his hand over her exposed arm, feeling her cold skin.

"Does death hurt?"

"It can, Why?" she stared up at the stars again. "Well, honestly, I want to go peacefully, but I know being run through isn't going to be that way."

"Just imagine all the happy times you've had when it goes down."

"Happy times…" several memories passed through her mind, some of her time with her brothers, being on the road, a lot of them the time she'd spent with Castiel.

"I love you." There was a moment of silence before Cas turned, drawing her face up to look at him. "Cas?" there was a moment of hesitation before he closed the gap, kissing her softly, however things quickly got heated as he bit her bottom lip softly, asking for entrance, she could feel the angel smirk as Grace let out a soft moan, Castiel's hands wandering down to her waist, the sudden wolf whistle snapped the to out of their make out session.

"Get some, Buddy, WHOO!" it was Dean, Grace's face was beet red and Cas looked massively uncomfortable. Dean winked at his friend and little sister before nodding for them to head back into the bar.

* * *

*The next morning*

Today the tension between Grace and Dean could be cut with a knife, neither could really look at each other but they forced a smile to make sure the other two didn't catch on to what was going on.

"Morning, Sammy." He stared at her like she had two heads "Why are you so Happy this morning…you haven't even had coffee yet." Usually before the blonde had her coffee she was the equivalent to Lucifer himself, sarcastic and completely cold unless she wanted something from you.

"Just slept really well, that's all." That was a lie, she hadn't slept much, if at all.

"Sam, we're running low on food again, mind going to the store later?" Dean's voice came from the door way, "Morning, Short stack."

"Morning Dean-o" Grace had a smile but her eyes were anywhere but on her older brothers face,

"Sure." Dean tossed him the key's to 'Baby' and the remaining two siblings stood in silence, watching him go.

"Dean…" she didn't even need to finish her sentence before he pulled her in for a tight hug, his chin rested on her head.

"Are you ready?" she sniffed, the smell of his cologne filled her senses, one last happy memory before it all came to an end.

"Meet me outside, and stay quiet, Cas is sleeping in one of the spare rooms." She nodded as he pulled away, heading down the hallway.

* * *

The two stood, staring at one another in the woods next to the bunker "You're gonna come back from this, Promise me." Grace stared at him, her eyes were red from holding back her tears,

"I promise. I'm a Winchester after all, we never stay dead." She had a sad excuse for a smile on her face as the tears finally fell, Dean approached her, pulling her in for one final hug. "Say Hi to our mom for us, Please?" he placed a soft kiss on her head,

"I will." And that's when the pain came, Dean had stabbed her in the heart with an angel blade he procured from Cas sometime back, he knew it wasn't the first blade, but he figured it didn't matter when killed his sister, as long as she died.

"See you soon…Dean." The eldest sibling finally cracked as he ripped the blade from her chest and watched her fall as his own tears spilled over.

"See you soon, Gracie." He knelt down, closing her eyes as he hugged her body close, the distant sound of the impala pulling up echoed in the distance.

* * *

So, that's the end of An Angel's Grace, but don't worry, I have a part two planned and I've already worked on Graces big return to Earth as Avarin, so stick with me as I begin the next part of her story, it's gonna be big!

UPDATE! The sequel is now up under the name "Shards of Stardust" ENJOY!


End file.
